No doubt you are aware Christchurch is currently seeing an increased number of COVID cases at the moment. We have had a handful of cases reported here at Mt Pleasant School and all families involved have been wonderful at communicating this with us - thank you!

There have been a number of questions around what our stance on this is, so we thought we would let our community know. We are following the guidelines from the Ministry of Health as outlined below:

• Although requirements have been removed, we recommend you isolate for 5 days and wear a mask when visiting healthcare facilities.

• Symptoms for COVID-19 tend to show 2 to 5 days after a person has been infected but can take up to 14 days.

• 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.

• After completing your 5 days of recommended isolation, if your symptoms have resolved and you feel well, you can return to your normal activities.

• You do not need a negative RAT result to return to work or school. But, you should discuss your return to work with your employer or school principal. Your employer or school may require additional precautions. (Please let us know so we can mark your child as unwell for their days of isolation so you don't have to send an absence message each day, but do give us a call if you want to clarify anything further).

If you are still sick

Some people can still be infectious after 5 days. If you are still unwell after you have completed 5 days of recommended isolation, we recommend you stay home until you are recovered.

If you do need to leave the house, we recommend you wear a mask and do not:

• visit a healthcare facility (other than to seek medical attention)

• visit an aged residential care facility

• have contact with anyone at risk of getting seriously unwell with COVID-19.

Household Contacts

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 normally live in a house or flat on a permanent or part-time basis, for example, shared custody, with a person who has tested positive, and

• you spent at least 1 night or day (more than 8 hours) in that residence while the person was infectious.

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.

https://covid19.govt.nz/testing-and-isolation/if-you-have-covid-19/

In summary, if your child is unwell - please keep them home. Thank you!