The Delta variant is a highly contagious Sars-CoV-2 virus strain. Video / Paul Slater
Covid-19 has spread to Bay of Plenty schools, with three reporting positive cases yesterday and one closing as a precaution.
Two students at Te Puna School, one student at Mount Maunganui Intermediate School and an adult volunteer at Aquinas College have tested positive for Covid-19.
It was earlier reported thatit was a student from Aquinas but this is not the case.
Emails were sent to parents advising them of the positive cases.
This comes as 12 new Covid-19 cases were confirmed in the Bay of Plenty yesterday, bringing the region's total to 53. This included the first case in the Eastern Bay of Plenty.
Testing would be available at the Whakatāne War memorial today from 9am to 4pm due to this case.
Six of the cases were considered to be known close contacts and were already in isolation. Interviews with three were still under way to determine the source of their infection, a Ministry of Health media statement said.
Te Puna School was closed yesterday due to two students testing positive for Covid-19. Photo / George Novak
Te Puna School parents were advised on Tuesday night that two children in one family had tested positive for Covid-19 and it would be closed yesterday.
"The children were infectious at Te Puna School on Thursday 18th November," the email said.
Ministry officials had emphasised the risk of spread remained "very low" but the school chose to take a cautious approach and closed today, the email said.
"We will update you on school reopening when the decision is made."
Pirirakau Hauora manager Donna Motutere said her grandchild had been identified as a close contact.
Motutere opened a Covid testing station yesterday at the Te Puna rugby club carpark.
"The advice was that all the kids that were close contacts get tested immediately so we've decided we'll do the testing."
Tommy Wilson also had a grandchild at Te Puna School and said he was awaiting further confirmation or news from the principal.
"Everyone is going to get tested today just to make sure."
Te Puna School principal Neil Towersey and Board of Trustees chairman Andrew Harrison declined to comment.
Parents at Mount Maunganui Intermediate School were sent an email confirming one of the students had tested positive for Covid-19. Photo / George Novak
Parents at Mount Maunganui Intermediate School received an email confirming one student had tested positive for Covid-19 yesterday morning.
The school stayed open, with about 30 per cent of the school roll staying at home yesterday.
The email from principal Melissa Nelson stated that she spoke with the Ministry of Health and the advice was to stay open.
"Our school is staying open based on international and local evidence and experience, the risk of Covid-19 transmission within school settings is considered low," the email said.
All students in class with the affected case were contacted overnight and asked to stay home and isolate, the email said.
Those students would receive direct instructions from the ministry about testing requirements and would not return to school until they had completed their isolation and testing requirements.
Nelson said about 30 per cent of the school roll – including the two classes that were deemed close contacts - stayed at home after a student tested positive for the virus.
She said the families that were staying at home and not deemed close contacts were in discussions with the school, and Nelson suspected the roll may return to normal numbers in the next few days.
Nelson said while it was a bit of shock, it was not unexpected given the cases already in Tauranga.
She was happy with how the community responded to the case and said the school appreciated all the support from the community.
Mount Maunganui Intermediate School principal Melissa Nelson. Photo / George Novak
One parent, whose daughter goes to Mount Maunganui Intermediate, said she was not worried about the case as it was "bound to happen".
She has one daughter at the school who already had her first jab at her own request.
Her daughter was still at school and they were following the advice of the school, which was advised by the Ministry of Health, she said.
She was happy with the way the school handled the situation after sending out a text this morning to check an urgent email, she said.
The school had also kept the school community "in the loop" with the Tahatai Coast School case last week, putting parents' minds at ease about cases in school communities.
Another parent, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, said "knowing my daughter is double-jabbed makes me feel relieved and reassured".
She had the "utmost respect" for the teachers and staff and thanked them for being fully vaccinated to allow her daughter to continue learning at the school.
She said Covid-19 was always going to make it into school communities and she was grateful New Zealand had "plenty of time to be prepared" unlike other countries.
One student tested positive for Covid-19 at Aquinas College. Photo / George Novak
Parents of Aquinas College students received an email from the principal on Tuesday night saying a member of a sports team had tested positive for Covid-19.
Aquinas College principal Matt Dalton told the Bay of Plenty Times today the Covid case was not a student and was an adult volunteer. He did not provide any further details citing privacy reasons.
The email sent earlier said: "They were deemed to be infectious during their team's match on Saturday," the email said.
"Only the team members are considered close contacts, and no other exposure events have been identified.
"While I acknowledge this news is unsettling, we must wait for the health experts to determine how we proceed once they have completed sufficient investigation."
Bay of Plenty MP Todd Muller said the school was doing "exactly the right thing" being transparent [and] informing parents.
"I have nothing but praise for the way that Matt Dalton and the school has handled it."
