Kia ora koutou,
Even with case numbers relatively low, today marked the highest daily total, and we're advised by experts to brace for an impending Omicron 'surge'. The timing and scale of this remains to be seen, but I would urge continuing caution rather than alarm. The practical question on many parents’ minds will naturally be what happens if there is a case (or cases) at school?
The reality is that it's probably more a question of ‘when’ than ‘if’ at this stage. In terms of what a response would look like, this would follow a Ministry of Health process in order to determine;
- if the COVID-19 case was wearing a mask at school;
- how long the COVID-19 case spent in close proximity to other students;
- who they spent most of their time with during breaks;
- contact with teaching/non-teaching staff, parents/other visitors etc.
Recent contact tracing in NZ schools has been based on the criteria above, resulting in all (or some) members of an affected class being required to isolate (currently for a period of 10 days at the 'Red' setting), with distance learning provided. A negative test would, of course, be required before returning to school.
As you'd expect, communication is key - if a member of your immediate family tests positive or is required to self-isolate as a close contact, we request that you let us know without delay. For our part, you can expect to be kept fully informed in the event of any confirmed cases connected with school.
We have contingencies for this scenario, but we should all take some reassurance from the fact that the public health measures we have in place (including mask use, limiting non-essential contact and natural ventilation standards) make a genuine and significant difference to limiting the potential spread of the virus within and between groups.
In fact, schools are not considered ‘high risk’ environments with basic mitigation strategies in place. You may no doubt also be aware of the growing body of international evidence suggesting that children appear to be at extremely low risk of serious illness from this variant (non-zero, but still remarkably low according to current statistics).
Added to this is the fact that we now have a greater range of tools at our disposal than ever before, including very high adult vaccination rates in the local community and an increasing number of students having now received their first vaccination.
None of this is to in any way underplay the virus or suggest that we should take a cavalier approach, of course. As a relatively 'immunologically naive' population (due to successful suppression of previous outbreaks), preventing and limiting transmission remains the priority. This not only slows the spread, but also protects more vulnerable adults and children within our community.
Ultimately, the closure of schools is now very much considered a ‘last resort’, which is good news for the continuity of learning at school that we all want for our tamariki. Our focus, therefore, is to continue to take all available practical steps as we re-engage our learners with a rich, vibrant classroom curriculum, in line with our school vision for students who are 'Wide-eyed and Enthusiastic About Learning!'
A good example is the upcoming Y5 Carey Park EOTC week. While they may not be able to stay overnight in dorm cabins as originally planned, we are pressing ahead and wish them well for what will undoubtedly be a fun, challenging and very memorable experience!
