COVID -19 Updates

Monday 4 September 2023

Kia ora whānau , 

UPDATE:
Recommended to Stay Home from  day of First Symptom

Start your Recommended 5 Day Isolation Period


If you test positive for COVID-19, it is recommended you isolate for at least 5 days, even if you only have mild symptoms, starting at Day 0.
This includes if you have had COVID-19 before.

Day 0 is the day your symptoms started or when you tested positive, whichever came first.

Isolation means not going to work or school.

Your Household Contacts do not need to isolate. 

If you are a Household Contact of someone who has COVID-19, we recommend you do a RAT each day for 5 days.
You are a Household Contact if:

You are also a Household Contact if you do not normally share a residence with the person who has COVID-19, but spent a night together in the same room.


Monday 13 September 2022

Kia ora whānau , 

New long-term strategy for COVID-19 – Traffic Light System ending


You’ll be aware that New Zealand will move to a new, long-term approach to COVID-19. These changes have been made based on public health advice and reflect high levels of immunity and declining case numbers across New Zealand.

This new approach will only result in minor changes to the way we operate.


The very positive news is that household contacts of a person with COVID-19 do not need to isolate, but instead are asked to complete a RAT test each day, for five days. Therefore, ākonga who are household contacts but test negative and do not have COVID-19 symptoms, should continue to attend. It is the best place for them to be so they can be engaged in their learning, and connected with their teachers, classmates and friends.


Information on how to get RAT kits can be found here: Request a RAT– Ministry of Health  


Mask wearing is no longer required. However, if you wish your child to wear a mask, we will continue to support your decision.


All the other recommended public health measures will stay in place as we know they reduce the spread of infectious illnesses including COVID-19. These include ensuring our indoor spaces are well-ventilated, maintaining good hand hygiene, encouraging everyone to cough or sneeze into elbows and, most importantly, staying home and getting tested if they have COVID-19 symptoms.


Thank you for your ongoing support in protecting our community.


Public Holiday


Please be reminded that the school will be closed on Monday 26th September in memory of Queen Elizabeth.


Noho ora mai


Michelle Dibben

Principal

Friday 22 July

Kia ora,

Masking up for the start of Term 3

In previous years we have found there is an increase in winter illnesses in schools at the start of Term 3 as students bring back infections after travelling and socialising during the holidays. This year cases of COVID-19 are increasing in most parts of the country, and we are also seeing high numbers of other winter illnesses.

For the start of Term 3, 2022, the Ministry of Education and Ministry of Health strongly recommend that all schools and kura amend their mask policy for the first four weeks of term to require mask wearing in all indoor settings (where it will not have a significant impact on teaching and learning – see below) for students in Years 4 and above. It is our school policy to ask Year 3 to wear masks too as they are in shared learning spaces with Year 4.

This recommendation does not include any situation where mask wearing might not be practicable, such as while eating and drinking, playing certain musical instruments, indoor sport, where it will have a significant impact on teaching and learning (for example, students with particular learning needs), certain activities such as singing or drama performance on stage, and PE. In these situations, particular attention should be paid to ensuring there is good ventilation during the activity, and physical distancing where practicable.

Wearing masks can reduce new cases of the virus by as much as 53%. It works alongside other measures including vaccination, good ventilation, staying home when sick, and hand washing and other hygiene measures, to protect our students and staff. Keep up healthy habits – Unite Against COVID-19

Adult-sized masks can generally be adjusted to fit older children by tying knots in the ear loops. Unite Against COVID-19 shows how to do this: How to wear a face mask safely – Unite Against COVID-19

We know that that some of our tamariki/ākonga are exempt from wearing a mask. If they have an exemption card or a letter from their health provider, or we have agreed that mask wearing is not practicable for them, we will support them to not wear a mask. Apply for a face mask exemption pass – Unite Against COVID-19

Please make sure that tamariki/ākonga come to school ready to wear masks. Students should bring masks from home. There will be a limited supply of masks for students who are unable to bring one from home.

Thank you for your support in protecting our school community.

Noho ora mai

Michelle Dibben

24th February

Kia ora koutou,

New Zealand’s COVID-19 response continues amid much larger numbers of daily cases. From midnight tonight the country will move into phase 3 of its Omicron response.

You may well have seen the headlines in the media about the numbers of cases being seen in schools. Please don’t be alarmed by this. It is only natural as cases in our community increase, they will appear in our school. We have really good systems in place to respond to this and to keep any spread of the virus – should it appear – to a minimum.

You may have seen Dr Jin Russell in the media noting research from New South Wales about their recent Omicron outbreak showing that spread within the school setting is very low (less than 4% of cases at school infected someone else when at school). We have seen that in New Zealand too. To date, we have not seen any within school transmission at Manurewa Central School.

This is why we remain open at Red. It’s great for a child’s wellbeing and learning to be at school with their friends and school staff, and we have very good systems in place to keep everyone as safe as possible. 

Your job remains the same, too: please continue to keep a really close watch of your whānau for anyone with symptoms. If unwell, please stay at home and get advice about getting a COVID-19 test.

With Phase 3 of the Omicron response, the key change is that only confirmed cases and their household contacts need to self-isolate. Isolation is for 10 days. Everyone else, including those who may have had close contact with the case but aren’t in the household, must continue to monitor really closely for any symptoms of COVID-19.

Rapid antigen tests (RATs) are now being used to diagnose COVID-19 as well as PCR tests. This means that you will get an almost immediate test result back if a RAT is used.

If anyone in your family is confirmed as having COVID-19, you will be asked to notify your close contacts yourself. The ‘close contact’ category no longer exists in schools and letters will not be sent home as the school is no longer responsible for contact tracing. Please get in touch with us as soon as you can if your child has tested positive for COVID-19 or is isolating as a household contact of a positive case.

From tomorrow (25 February), if your child(ren) is currently a Close Contact and are part way through their isolation, they do not need to complete the 10 days isolation and they are permitted to return to school. They do not need to get a negative COVID-19 test.  However, if they are unwell, they must not come to school.  If they have any symptoms, please remain in isolation and ensure testing takes place.  If symptoms should occur once they have returned to school, please follow the testing and isolation regime for Phase 3.

Transmission of COVID-19 is still most likely to happen in your home – so please keep doing all those good things to keep your whānau safe. Wash your hands, get lots of fresh air, cover any coughs and sneezes, clean surfaces regularly, and seek advice if anyone is not feeling well. And please wear a mask when you are out and about. There is information online to help your family prepare to isolate if you need to.

The most important advice we can give to keep your whānau safe is to act as if you have COVID-19. More than a third of people who have COVID-19 will not have any symptoms if they have had three doses of the vaccine. Please think about who you visit and what health measures you can put in place to keep everyone as safe as possible.

Getting three doses of the vaccine will really help you to do that. Research has shown that compared with being unvaccinated, three doses of the vaccine will mean you are 67% less likely to be infected with Omicron and 97% less likely to get Delta. If you can’t get COVID you can’t pass it on.

Finally, we know how hard the impacts on COVID-19 have been for many families in New Zealand. If you know of a family in your community who is struggling, please encourage them to reach out for support for example to access food, medicine, or access financial support: Help is available – COVID-19 Health Hub. 

If you have any concerns about sending your child to school, please do get in touch.  We are here to help.

Aku mihi,

Michelle Dibben

Principal

michelled@mancent.school.nz