Health authorities and state and federal leaders remain adamant schools should stay open during the COVID-19 pandemic.
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But as more and more coronavirus cases emerge, worried parents across the country are rebelling.
Reports surfaced on Friday that the father of a student at a NSW high school tested positive for coronavirus. But despite this his daughter still attended school.
This reporter was told the "Department of Education is working closely with NSW Health in responding to COVID-19 cases".
"Schools will take action in accordance with NSW Health advice on a confirmed case of COVID-19 where there has been an impact on a school," a department spokesperson said.
"All other confirmed cases are a personal matter for those involved and they will be managed directly by NSW Health. People assessed as being a 'close contact' of a member of the community are identified and contacted by NSW Health and given appropriate advice."
This case goes some way to explaining the declining attendance figures in schools across Australia.
It seems more and more parents are playing it safe and keeping their kids at home.
Some private schools are taking matters into their own hands by shutting up shop while many public schools are preparing to offer remote online learning to their students sooner rather than later.
The Illawarra Grammar School (TIGS) staff have already considered a scenario where students are unable to be on campus and learning shifts to an online model.
The Wollongong-based independent Anglican comprehensive co-educational early learning, primary and secondary day school, brought forward its pupil free day to train for long-term COVID-19 planning.
Earlier this week the Scots School became the first Albury-Wodonga educational institution to shut due to the coronavirus crisis.
Face-to-face teaching stopped on Thursday at the school's senior and junior sections until further notice as Scots followed the lead of other private schools in closing.
Its boarding house shut on Friday, with the school to switch to online, off-site teaching from Tuesday.
Ballarat Grammar also closed on Thursday, a week early, to protect students, staff and the broader community from coronavirus.
At time of publication, there had been 786 confirmed COVID-19 cases and seven deaths in Australia.
After a slow increase following the first cases in late January, the disease is spreading much faster.
While the number of deaths so far is relatively low, these are likely to increase considerably over the next few weeks as emergency services become more strained.