Covid 19 Omicron outbreak: Rotorua principals call for rapid antigen tests for teachers

A Rotorua school principal says it is a "no brainer" for teachers to be included in a Government scheme that loosens isolation rules for critical workers who return daily negative rapid antigen tests.

Principals across the wider Bay of Plenty are frustrated by a lack of access to the tests with one saying it is a "smack in the face".

They say access to tests will ensure schools can stay open as Omicron cases rise and more teachers have to stay home due to close contact isolation requirements.

Ministry of Education communication to school leaders said "generally" schools would not be part of the scheme but exceptions would be made if a school did not have enough staff on site to care for children who could not learn from home. Staff at boarding school hostels were included in the scheme.

Yesterday there were 2365 new community cases of Covid-19 including 24 in the Lakes District Health Board area and 42 in the Bay of Plenty District Health Board area. One of 116 people in hospital was in Tauranga. Nationwide, two deaths were reported.

John Paul College principal Patrick Walsh feared as more teachers became infected with Omicron staff shortages would result in students having to learn at home.

This year the school had already had five staff away for "long periods" after being symptomatic or deemed close contacts.

Some had been waiting up to five days for test results and it had proved difficult to find replacement teachers for senior subjects, he said.

John Paul College principal Patrick Walsh. Photo / Andrew Warner

"Even at the start of the year student learning has already been quite disrupted and the situation is only going to get worse as time goes on."

He believed the "simple" solution was to give schools access to rapid tests.

"A teacher could be tested straight away and if they were negative they could carry on."

Parents who were essential workers had also spoken to Walsh worried about what teachers' lack of access to tests would mean for them, he said.

"They are essential workers - working in supermarkets and driving trucks to get supplies around the country. If children end up being home then they may have to stay home.

"So to keep the economy going I think it is a no-brainer that we get these tests."

And heading into the third year of the pandemic, JPC students did not want to learn from home, he said.

"If schools can't function and have to close then children generally will be missing out on their education yet again," he said.

"All of that is really unfortunate because they have had two years of disruption. Students don't want to learn from home and staff want to be at school."

Rotorua Principals Association president and Mamaku School principal Gary Veysi said teachers were critical workers and it made sense for them to be included in the scheme.

"If we lose a teacher that class is going home because we don't have a backup," he said.

"It is really worrying, I don't know why they [rapid antigen tests] are not being sent out to schools."

Rotorua Principals Association president Gary Veysi. Photo / Andrew Warner

Veysi said the school was down a teacher recently as that person was a close contact.

"She can't be at school but she can't get a test because she is not sick."

Elsewhere, Tauranga Boys' College principal Robert Mangan said rapid tests would be of "huge" benefit to schools.

They would help maximise staff onsite when schools were faced with positive cases and close contacts were identified in the community, he said.

He said it was "extremely disappointing" the vaccine was mandated for the education workers but they were not deemed essential workers as part of this scheme.

"That situation felt education employers were valued in their roles. And this is a smack in the face to say 'you are not really that valued because we are not going to provide you with the ability to test and return immediately to work'."

He said it was "clear" the Government wanted schools to stay open face-to-face.

"It is disappointing they are not giving us the tools to enable us to do that as efficiently and as soon as we possibly could."

Ministry of Education hautū (leader) operations and integration Sean Teddy said school staff could access the close contact exemption scheme in situations where they need to be physically on site to make sure children who needed to be there were supervised.

Schools would need to decide whether this was the "right thing to do" for their circumstances based on the accuracy of rapid testing and the risk of false negatives.

He encouraged schools to look at a "range of options" including online learning, limited authority to teach solutions, or using other vaccinated and police vetted adults to support students.

Policies would be reviewed as the pandemic situation changed to ensure the needs of the education sector were being responded to, he said.