New figures show nearly 30 per cent of families had children’s school or daycare impacted by COVID-19

At least 20 South West schools have active cases of COVID-19, prompting families to be more cautious than ever as the region continues to adjust to the very-high case load settings in place in WA.

It comes as data reveals more than a quarter of families have had children’s school or daycare attendance affected by COVID-19.

Data gathered by the South Western Times shows 23 schools in the South West have active cases of COVID-19.

The departments of health and education were contacted for comment on these figures.

The Australian Bureau of Statistics released data on Wednesday showing how COVID-19 has impacted school attendance, job situation, and physical precautions being taken by Australians.

It found people were being as cautious as they were at the start of the pandemic.

This included 20 per cent being unable to attend due to being a COVID-19 close contact, 16 per cent due to the school or childcare centre being closed due to COVID-19, 16 per cent due to testing positive to the virus and 16 per cent due to other restrictions.

Growing case numbers have also led people to become more cautious about physical distancing and hygiene to prevent the spread of the virus.

95 per cent of people reported washing hands or using hand sanitiser regularly in February 2022, compared to 85 per cent in June 2021, 64 per cent reported disinfecting surfaces before using them and 85 per cent kept a physical distance from people, compared with 63 per cent for the same period.

These are comparable to figure recorded by the ABS in October 2020, which found 95.9 per cent of people washed their hands or used hand sanitiser, 68 per cent were disinfecting surfaces before using them and 86.5 per cent were physical distancing.