“We don’t expect the majority of students back until early next week,” Webb said.
“I think we might just have to write this week off.”
It’s a familiar story across the country as schools feel the impact of winter illnesses.
Earlier this month, parents and members of the Mangawhai Beach School community were told to keep their children home because 11 teachers were off sick and it could not find relievers.
The following week, Peggy Burrows, principal of Haeata Community Campus in the eastern Christchurch suburb of Wainoni, reported that 56% of students were absent because of illness on one day.
At the time, she said the “confronting” flu season had also left a third of its staff off sick.
She urged anyone with flu-like symptoms “to stay at home and fully recover before returning to kura”.
“If you have very young children or elderly relatives living with you, it might pay to keep tamariki home so they don’t bring bugs home with them.”
In June, Manurewa High School in Auckland closed early because of sickness, leaving it unable to staff all classes.
Seasonal bugs even caused Pegasus Health’s 24-hour urgent care clinic in Christchurch to announce early this month that it had temporarily stopped accepting new patients.
Lisa Brennan, general manager of patient and provider services for the clinic, said at the time that “winter illness continues to place pressure on the health system”.
“As an urgent care service, we prioritise patients based on clinical urgency, which can affect an individual’s wait time.
“When wait times are longer than usual, we update our Facebook page with this information to enable people to make the best decision for their care.”
Brennan said nurses would still be available, but she encouraged people to call Healthline before leaving home.
“People presenting at 24-hour surgery are still triaged by a nurse but may be redirected to other options where appropriate.”
Health New Zealand said the flu vaccine was recommended for everyone aged 6 months and older and was the best protection against flu viruses.
“It is not too late to have the flu vaccine, and it is free for people at higher risk of getting very sick from the flu,” a spokesperson said.
“This includes those aged 65 years and over, those who have long-term health conditions, like diabetes, asthma or a heart condition, and those who are pregnant.
“It also includes children aged 4 years old and under who have been hospitalised for a respiratory illness, those with certain mental health conditions, and those who are currently accessing secondary or tertiary mental health and addiction services.”
Jazlyn Whales is a multimedia journalist based in the Christchurch newsroom.
