Please read important information from the Ministry of Health & Ministry of Education surrounding the COVID-19 pandemic.

Nationwide alert system for COVID-19

The Prime Minister has introduced a nationwide alert system for Covid-19.

You can read more about it on the Covid-19 website.

COVID Alert levels

Current alert Level 3: Restrict

What Level 3 means for everyone

New Zealand is now at Level 3 to stop and eradicate COVID-19.

Eradicating the disease is vital to protect people’s health and ensure our health system can cope and look after New Zealanders who become sick.

What is level 3:

• Travel in areas with clusters or community transmission limited
• Affected educational facilities closed
• Gatherings cancelled
• Public venues closed (eg. libraries, museums, cinemas, food courts, gyms, pools, amusement parks)
• Alternative ways of working required and non-essential businesses should close
• Non face-to-face primary care consultations
• Non acute (elective) services and procedures in hospitals deferred and healthcare staff reprioritised

Stay at home

Everyone should work at home.

Vulnerable people in particular should stay at home and self-isolate.

Only the children of essential workers should be at school or early childhood facilities. This will be communicated directly to parents and will change.

You may go for a walk or exercise and enjoy nature, but keep a 2 metre distance from people at all times.

Access to everything you need

Food will always be available – production will continue, distribution will continue, supermarkets will continue. You will always have access to food.

Medicines will always be available.

Healthcare for those that need it will be available.

Your usual financial support, like benefits, will continue as normal.

We must all participate

We have a plan. We need your support to protect New Zealand and eradicate COVID-19. Enforcement measures may be used to ensure everyone acts together, now.

Where can I go for more information?

We will continue to update COVID19.govt.nz.

When is sick, sick?

The messaging remains clear – that if you are feeling unwell please stay home, and the same goes for children and young people. However at the tail end of a cold, there will be runny noses and probably some coughing. This might be worrying for some people who are being vigilant about their own and others’ health.

A diagram below has been developed by Dr Siouxsie Wiles to assist you when considering symptoms (sent to us by a teacher who found it useful). What it tells us is:

• A dry cough and a high temperature are common to both flu and COVID-19.
• Sneezing is not a symptom of COVID-19, however if someone has COVID-19, then sneezing can spread droplets containing the virus.

Please also read the information sheet attached in helping your child through self isolation if they are required to do so.