No plans to close other Dunedin schools

Two North Dunedin schools have contacted parents amid concerns about people being tested for coronavirus in the area.

It follows the announcement this afternoon about 150 close contacts of a Logan Park High School pupil were in self-isolation and that the school would remain closed until at least the weekend while they are tested.

Ministry of Health Director-General Dr Ashley Bloomfield said the Logan Park situation was "unique".

Ministry of Education's Secretary of Education Iona Holsted said it was following a plan in Dunedin and said there would be no widespread closures at this time.

Southern District Health Board chief executive Chris Fleming also said yesterday parents with offspring at other schools should feel confident to send their children to school.

This comes amid reports some parents of Dunedin school pupils are electing not to send their children to school.

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In a post on its Facebook page, Dunedin North Intermediate said it was aware "there are a number of people being tested around our area, but again, the advice is that unless we had a student or staff member tests positive DNI will remain open''.

"DNI is still open for all children who are well, and we do not expect this to change unless the Ministry of Health advises otherwise.

''We are conscious that these are unprecedented times and that some whanau are especially vulnerable and therefore taking additional precautions. While we do understand why people are opting to do this, at this time we are very much snowed under with the additional workload COVID has created and as such individual requests to provide school work for those opting to self isolate as a precaution, rather than a requirement, is beyond our capacity.''

Staff will be meeting this afternoon to continue planning for how to provide work to students if it was required to close.

''As you can imagine we have a lot of children off school at present and we thank you for responding to our request to keep sick children at home.''

North East Valley Normal principal John McKenzie told parents in an alert yesterday he had been told there were two suspected cases connected to the school.

While the cases were unconfirmed, he said: "This may mean you choose to keep your children home for the time being."

The school would still be open and parents were told to tell the school if their children were not attending using the usual absentee process.

Meanwhile, King’s High School is discouraging its pupils from wearing face masks in the wake of Dunedin first confirmed coronavirus infections.

King's Rector Nick McIvor said the school made the decision on the basis of information received from the Ministry of Health, which said face masks were not recommended as an effective means of preventing the spread of infection.

‘‘They play an important role in clinical settings, such as hospitals, but there’s very little evidence of benefit from their use outside of these settings,’’ the ministry’s website said.

Mr McIvor said all other hygiene precautions recommended by the Ministry of Health were being followed.