Thousands of Aussie schoolkids WILL be learning from home as schools stay shut in one state Many students across South Australia to start the school year learning remotely Premier Steven Marshall is keeping many schools closed to limit spread of Covid On Thursday, the state recorded 3669 new Covid-19 cases as well as four deaths By Andrew Prentice For Daily Mail Australia Published: 11:07 GMT, 13 January 2022 | Updated: 11:26 GMT, 13 January 2022 Viewcomments Thousands of students across South Australia will be learning from home to start the school year, with many classrooms staying closed in a bid to limit the spread of Covid-19 case numbers. Premier Steven Marshall confirmed the development on Thursday, with pupils to work under a hybrid model of learning. Some youngsters will enjoy face to face classroom interaction. Further details will be announced on Friday, with the premier stating schools will open from January 31 for children of essential workers as well as vulnerable children. From February 2, all classes will resume – but only face-to-face learning for year 1, year 7, year 8 students and year 12 students. Other students will resume their classes online on the same date, with a return to face-to-face learning from February 14. Thousands of students across South Australia will be learning from home to start the school year, with many classrooms (pictured) across the state staying closed in a bid to limit the spread of Covid-19 case numbers SA Premier Steven Marshall (pictured) confirmed the development on Thursday, with pupils to work under a hybrid model of learning Mr Marshall said the decision was made to support students making the transition to primary and high school, and to also help students in the final year of their studies. The premier added the hybrid model would 'massively reduce the number of new infections' during February. There are 225 people in SA hospitals with Covid, out of 32,516 active cases - meaning 99.3 per cent of people with the virus have not required hospital treatment. Multiple health sources believe having many year levels at home for at least a few weeks could dramatically slow the spread of Covid across the state. The news hasn't pleased everyone, with the Independent Education Union SA declaring their preference was for a delayed start to the school year - for all students. On Thursday, the state recorded 3669 new Covid-19 cases and four deaths. There are currently 225 patients in hospital and 26 in ICU, with seven people on a ventilator. More than 20,000 tests were recorded on Wednesday, with waiting times for a PCR test reduced to a maximum of two hours at most community sites. Read more: Share or comment on this article: All rights reserved for this news site (dailymail) and under his responsibility