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A West Auckland primary school student has been identified as a close contact for a coronavirus case.
It comes after a student at nearby St Dominic’s Catholic College tested positive for the virus. The student last attended school on Friday, September 4 and left early after feeling unwell.
His positive test result came in on Tuesday.
RICKY WILSON / Stuff
A Henderson North School student has been identified as a close contact on a Covid-19 case.
The girls-only school on Rathgar Rd in Henderson is surrounded by several other schools, including Liston College and Waitākere College just down the road.
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On its website, Henderson North Elementary School had a letter from the Auckland Regional Public Health Service explaining that a student was a close contact on a case.
“Close contacts are people who may be at higher risk of contracting the disease because they were close to a person with Covid-19 during their infectious period,” the letter said.
“Rest assured, the student was not unwell and was highly unlikely to catch COVID-19 while at school. The student is self-isolating at home, has been tested for the virus and is currently doing well. “
GOOGLE MAPS / Supplied
A student at St. Dominic’s Catholic College tested positive for Covid-19.
ARPHS said it considered the risk to any other schools or staff to be low and Henderson North Elementary School was still safe to attend.
Students who were to drop off at Henderson North could be seen wearing masks on Wednesday morning.
Anna, who has a daughter who attends school, said she felt “a little bit” worried about the situation, but believed it would be okay.
“The school has been very good at making sure everything is disinfected and kept clean,” he said.
In a statement, ARPHS also said that several Liston College students attended classes at St Dominic’s, but only casual contacts are considered.
RICKY WILSON / Stuff
Some Liston College students are considered casual contacts of the case at St Dominic’s Catholic College.
“St Dominic’s Catholic College will not tell parents or staff the name of the student who is a case, his class or grade level to protect the privacy of the student,” he said.
“The person and their family are isolated, and public health monitors their health and well-being.”
On its Facebook page, Waitākere College said that it had been informed about the St. Dominic case of a senior student.
“This student does not ride our shared buses or any public bus,” the university said.
“Please keep upset students at home and make sure they get tested. This is very important to stay ahead of this virus. “
Waitākere College said the school remained open, but hoped that anyone with a sibling at St Dominic’s would stay home.
“Rest assured, Waitākere College remains strict with our health and safety protocols, to ensure that the spread of anything is reduced, and at this stage nothing changes in schedules or attendance here at the university.”
Another school in the area, Holy Cross Catholic School, on Lavelle Rd, also released a statement on its Facebook page asking parents to keep their children at home if they had siblings at St Dominic’s.
“Yes, I am being very cautious, but I am trying to keep all of our children safe,” the statement said.
Health Minister Chris Hipkins said RNZ St Dominic’s would be closed for the next few days, but testing would be available to the school community on site.
Hipkins said he understood the case would create a degree of anxiety in the school community.
Police were now involved from a community point of view to help the remaining people possibly linked to the current outbreak get tested.
Hipkins said at the beginning that there were some people linked to the group who did not believe in science and were skeptical.
Microbiologist Dr. Siouxsie Wiles said Stuff the virus was very similar for older teens as it was for young adults.
“You may have a few cases around you, but the impact on them is usually less than as you get older,” Wiles said.
RNZ
Professor Shaun Hendy said the Auckland cluster could still last for a few weeks.
“Being a school rather than a workplace, I would probably expect less transmission, fewer secondary cases, but we will have to wait and see.”
Wiles said future cases involving the St Dominic’s student would be entirely dependent on who was a close contact of them at the time they were in school and “probably infectious.”
If the individuals identified as close contacts used the school buses, it would depend on how long they rode the bus and their exposure to determine whether others on the bus were considered at risk.
According to the Ministry of Health, most of the people related to the current outbreak were between 10 and 19 years old, 21%.
The next largest age group was 20-29, at 17 percent.
Close intermediate Henderson declined to comment on the St. Dominic case.
Liston College, Waitākere College, St Dominic’s College, and Henderson North School have been contacted for further comment.
