Tairua School moves online as Covid takes out staff

Better days for Tairua School prinicipal Brendan Finn at the school's recent surf programme. The school is now online due to Covid among staff. Photo / HC Post

Primary school children in Tairua are working online this week after a surge in Covid-19 cases among teaching staff forced its doors to temporarily shut.

Tairua School principal Brendan Finn said the community had suffered many cases with large numbers of absenteeism in recent weeks due to Covid-19.

"We hope this will help to break the transmission cycle. We're optimistic that we'll be back for on-campus learning on Monday."

An assessment would be made on Thursday and a decision announced to the school community on Friday.

The school principal had tested positive himself and was unwell with Covid-19. He said numerous teaching staff had the virus, and that meant there was no capacity to keep teaching in the classroom.

"We've had a real belt of it go through the school. We knew if it hit the kids it would only be a matter of time before our teaching staff would be directly impacted.

"We know this is not ideal, however, under the circumstances it is our best option."

He told parents Covid-19 was still causing a lot of anxiety and everyone's situation was unique to them.

As of Monday, Thames-Coromandel had 345 active cases (39 new) and Hauraki had 424 active cases (47 new).

The total number of cases in this Waikato outbreak is now 33,410 (11,816 active and 21,594 recovered).

There were 209 vaccinations given in Waikato on Monday.

There were 74 Covid-19 positive individuals receiving care at Waikato DHB hospitals – a mix of patients receiving care for Covid-19 and those receiving care for an unrelated condition who have also tested positive.

At phase three, the focus is on safely managing Covid-19 at home to keep hospital beds free for people who are vulnerable and need medical treatment.

The DHB says a rapid increase in case numbers meant a greater need for people to self-manage their situation using online tools such as reporting themselves as cases and close contacts.

• Testing is available in Tairua at the community hall carpark. You should get a Covid-19 test only if you have symptoms, or you are a household contact.