A rapid antigen test for Covid 19. Photo / Bevan Conley
Bay of Plenty school principals are frustrated by a lack of access to rapid antigen tests for teachers with one saying it is a "smack in the face".
They say access to tests will ensure schools can stay open as Omicron cases increase and it is a "no brainer" for staff to be included in a Government scheme that allows some critical workers to skip close contact isolation requirements if they return negative rapid antigen tests daily.
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 42 in the Bay of Plenty District Health Board area. One of the 116 people in hospital was in Tauranga. Nationwide, two deaths were reported.
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 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."
Tauranga Girls' College principal Tara Kanji said access to rapid tests would give assurance to school communities.
"It is disappointing that we have not been included in the close contact scheme.
"Rapid antigen tests would assure colleagues they are well, assure their students and their parents. Once symptoms disappear, a clear test would support the clearance back to work."
Earlier this month Tauranga Girls' College parents were informed a staff member had tested positive for Covid-19.
The staff member was at the college between February 1 and 3, a letter to parents said.
Kanji earlier said there had been no further cases since the announcement and one close contact had returned a negative test.
A "few" staff members presenting symptoms were also away last week but had returned initial negative tests, Kanji said.
But she said the "challenge" surrounding getting tested was the waiting time for results.
"We too are trying to do our best to keep learning and teaching at the fore and keep chains of productivity going.
"But delays in PCR test outcomes is proving to be extremely challenging already let alone when the modellers tell us numbers will be in the thousands."
Western Bay of Plenty Principals Association president Suzanne Billington felt it was "pretty important" teachers had access to rapid tests.
Working parents were relying on schools to stay open for onsite learning so they could be "doing their jobs and keeping the economy running".
Billington, the principal at Tauriko School, said if there were multiple staff waiting on test results and unable able to return to work it could result in pupils having to stay home.
"It would be really helpful if we could be part of the scheme. It would be far more helpful for schools and for students learning to have their teachers in front of them."
Rotorua's 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 as 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.
"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 antigen 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."
Heading into the third year of the pandemic, college 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.
Ministry hautū (leader) operations and integration Sean Teddy said school staff could access the close contact exemption scheme where they need to be physically on-site to make sure children that need 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 changes to ensure the needs of the education sector were being responded to, he said.
The jury's marathon deliberations ran for two weeks.