Positive COVID cases in three schools have forced hundreds of students and dozens of staff in Western Australia (WA) to self isolate for two weeks—just days within the start of the school year. A Year 12 student at Harrisdale Senior High School, a Year 11 student at Corpus Christi College, and a teacher at Winterfold Primary School all returned a positive test result. Only students and teachers deemed close contacts will be required to quarantine, which includes the entire Year 12 cohort of roughly 200 students at Harrisdale Senior High School. It comes despite the WA government assuring schools would stay open as long as possible to ensure vital face-to-face learning, with each of the three schools recording just one case. The directives form one of several precautions taken by the state government to suppress the spread of the milder Omicront variant, which included the abrupt backflip on reopening interstate …