Jo Raphael: Winter ills and chills just as disruptive as Covid

It's time to start being more vigilant when in public, writes Jo Raphael. Photo / Getty Images

OPINION

It seems we're at a bit of a crossroads in this pandemic.

The country's borders are due to open to the rest of the world at the end of the month.

We're poised to receive tourists for the first time in more than two and a half years.

However, we have a looming second wave of Covid - compounded by seasonal ills and chills that have hit local schools hard, with some principals' only choice being to send children home to learn.

Rotorua's Westbrook Primary School principal Colin Watkins is rightfully concerned.

"I can tell you honestly that we are seeing a dip across the school in the performance of students at most year levels because there are not enough kids in the classroom," he says.

"For every day a child is away, they miss out on three days of learning because the consistency has been broken."

In Tauranga, Otumoetai College principal Russell Gordon is struggling to find relief teachers and has done what many schools in the rohe have resorted to - sending Year 12 and 13 students home due to 35 staff being absent - that's about one-quarter of his staff.

Gordon says it is "one of those perfect storms" where teachers are off sick with Covid and the flu and multiple staff are offsite for a school sports event.

He says while remote learning is not ideal, there are not enough relievers to cover all the specialist classes.

He's right - it's not ideal, and their saving grace is that it's the last week of the school term, with school holidays starting this Friday giving the school a chance to reset for next term.

Our own offices have been hit by illness. A nasty cold is making its way around our ranks, keeping some of us down for days at a time.

We are lucky in that our working-from-home flexibilities have been tested and retested with Covid lockdowns and we're able to act quickly when people fall ill.

I believe many organisations have had much practice at this. It's time for those businesses that were able to adapt during lockdown to start looking at these options again. They should consider introducing more precautions to minimise and mitigate costs and disruptions caused by sickness.

Across the ditch, Australia is bracing for a third wave of Omicron with BA.4 and BA.5 variants cropping up across the country.

Federal health minister Mark Butler encouraged people to get boosters as reinfection was a risk.

This comes after the country reached the grim milestone of 10,000 Covid-related deaths this week.

While vaccinations and boosters are certainly a great tool to fight the virus, there are other things we can be doing to minimise our risk of exposure.

I see the wearing of masks being hit-and-miss. If there's ever a right time to be vigilant with masking up in public, it's now.

We want to keep our sense of what almost feels normal in this orange setting while trying to navigate this wave of winter illnesses.

The best way to do this is for people to practise good hygiene, stay at home if they're sick and wear a mask in public.