Covid 19 Delta outbreak: West Auckland primary student tests positive to virus

A student has tested positive to Covid at Marina View School in West Auckland. Photo / Google

A West Auckland primary school student has tested positive to Covid.

Close contacts are isolating, and the school remains open.

The child was infectious at Marina View School in West Harbour from Wednesday, November 24, principal Maurice Young said in a statement.

"Close contacts will be self isolating at home for the next 10 days," Young said.

She said they are being provided public health advice, including about what testing and isolation steps they should take.

"The rest of the school is deemed low risk and Year 1-4s will be able to resume on Monday," Young said.

"The Year 5-8s will also resume back at school on Wednesday except the class concerned, who will self-isolate for the next 10 days."

"The bubble classes in Room 9 and 16 will also be able to come back to school on Monday."

With Covid now spreading around the country, Covid cases are increasingly also popping up in schools.

Most cases have so far been in high schools, but with primary students back in class and Auckland set to break out of lockdown on December 3, more primary cases are expected.

Auckland Primary Principals' Association president Stephen Lethbridge said he hadn't received up-to-date figures on how many primary schools had reported Covid cases among students and staff.

"However, there are a number of principals around the region who are closing bubbles or classes because they have positive cases," he said.

"We are never happy with positive cases, every positive case is something to be worried about, but we are living with Covid in the community now."

"All principals around the region will be looking forward to a time when we can vaccinate our 5 to 12-year-olds and that will be a welcome result next year."

Lethbridge said schools and the Ministry of Health had very good protocols set up to manage the virus.

That includes preventing students from intermingling with other students from outside their own class as little as possible.

"Schools across the region are staggering break times and designating play areas around the grounds for certain groups of kids," he said.

With outdoor play being at less risk of infections, most focus was on keeping "bubble" groups as separate as possible while indoors.

"We are going to be maintain the status quo of how we are running schools until the end of the year," he said.

"We will be hoping Auckland is well past the peak of infections and things will start to tail off and get back to a little more like normal practice."

Marina View's Young said her school would stay open despite the recent positive case because international and New Zealand evidence showed the risk of Covid transmission within schools is considered low.

"This means that it is no longer necessary for the school to immediately close when a case has been identified as infectious while at school."

She urged anyone eligible within the school community to get vaccinated and to keep a look out for symptoms of Covid.