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February 12 2022
There was a record 454 new cases of Covid-19 in the community today with 27 people now in hospital as Omicron continues to surge.
More than 100 Covid-19 cases are among school communities and early childhood services as teachers and staff adapt to the disruption brought by infections popping up in their communities.
Covid-19 cases have been identified at a number of schools, spanning Northland to Wellington, with more reported almost every day.
The Ministry of Education said there were 98 Covid-19 cases in schools and 19 at early childhood services in New Zealand.
President of the Secondary Principals' Association SPANZ, Vaughan Couillault, said there was almost a feeling of the "calm before the storm" among members as more families reported Covid-19 cases that were associated to schools.
"In terms of the sector as a whole, we are aware this is about to hit us. You're sort of watching a big wave come onto shore and you realise it's going to break in a minute."
Most of the Covid-19 cases in schools were in Waikato (42) and in Auckland (36).
Schools in Waikato that have Covid-19 cases in their school communities included Hamilton Boys' High School, which had three cases as of Saturday afternoon, and Hamilton Christian School, Melville Intermediate and Rototuna Junior School.
Hamilton Boys' High School headmaster Susan Hassall said she was proud of students who had been courageous, resilient and optimistic in the face of the challenges presented by Covid-19.
"It's been really reassuring and heartwarming to see everybody working so hard together.
"I think there's a real sense of community that develops in situations where there is a risk like this. That's one of the silver linings to what is a very real cloud to be honest."
Hassall said the cases had been linked outside of the school and there wasn't transmission in the school.
More than 50 close contacts had been identified so far and were now learning from home as teachers juggled teaching in class while uploading resources to Google Classroom at the same time for those at home.
"Gradually, as the days go on, there are more students who are unable to attend school because they've been identified as close contacts. That's where the pressure is going to start for schools and teachers. We're going to have to start managing the needs of those learners as well as the majority of students who are still at school."
In Auckland, St Thomas's School in Kohimarama also has a Covid-19 case among its community.
Principal Michael Maher said he was thankful for the "conscientious and prompt responses" of the families who were required to isolate.
Extensive Covid-19 protocols were in place and a management plan was activated once they were notified of the case on Friday, he said. Day-to-day operations hadn't been affected and classes continued as normal.
"We have a highly vaccinated community and are confident we will work through this next stage of the Covid pandemic in a safe and compassionate way."
SPANZ president Vaughan Couillault is also principal of Papatoetoe High School and well versed in managing Covid-19 cases in an education setting after finding his school thrust into the limelight and at the centre of an outbreak in February last year.
Today there are two Covid-19 cases among the Papatoetoe High School community. Both cases were in the same class together, meaning they had the same close contacts, making the situation "very ringfenced", he said.
SPANZ president Vaughan Couillault is also principal of Auckland's Papatoetoe High School. Photo / Dean Purcell
When Covid-19 crops up in a school, a number of operational scenarios could play out, Couillault explained.
It depended on how many staff members were impacted and whether there was transmission inside the school, he said, with the options ranging from closing down a single classroom to full school shutdown for example.
There were also five Covid-19 cases at schools in Te Tai Tokerau and six in the Bay of Plenty.
The Ministry of Education's hautū (leader) of operations and integration Te Pae Aronui, Sean Teddy, said schools and kura had taken their health and safety responsibilities seriously and were experienced at planning, implementing and monitoring their health and safety arrangements.
"The schools are doing a great job providing up-to-date health information and calm assurance to their students, staff, and parent community that everything that needs to be done is being done and their safety and wellbeing is the top priority."
All schools, kura and early childhood education services were provided a dedicated person, at the regional office, who was available seven days a week to offer support and help schools with contact tracing and communications.
"We would encourage any school, kura or centre who is facing staffing challenges, including because of self-isolation requirements, to reach out to their regional office."
The "Big Boost Week", aimed at encouraging people to get their third jab, continued with tens of thousands of people getting their booster dose each week.
Yesterday, there were 57,364 boosters administered.
Meanwhile, Tairāwhiti reached two vaccination milestones today: 90 per cent of the eligible population is now fully vaccinated and 90 per cent of the eligible Māori population had received their first dose.
