The Ministry of Education's Incident Management Team will be active over the weekend and will communicate with school principals during this time if necessary.

You will be aware that there were two additional Covid cases reported in Canterbury today. There are a small number of close contacts that have been identified and these are all in isolation. 

The Ministry of Health continues to advise on the locations of interest and please keep watching out for those public messages. 

More information will become available such as comprehensive water testing, and the results of this, contact tracing and Covid testing etc will continue to inform decisions over the next few days. 

In the meantime Christchurch will remain at Alert Level 2. Please continue to follow level 2 health requirements. If the situation changes the Ministry of Education will communicate with schools and provide support as needed.

If you have concerns about possible contact with people or places the following information will help.

Contacts

For the actions you should take if you are in contact with someone who has COVID, please follow this link. This will provide you with everything you need to know about the different kinds of contacts, what to do and who to contact.

Locations of Interest

Because of the highly infectious nature of the Delta variant, people who have been in the same place as a confirmed case at the same time will be deemed a close contact. Please note location of interest, date and time is key to then what action is or is not required.

Close contacts must:

• Get tested (testing locations are listed here)
• Self-isolate at home for 14 days from date of last exposure (self-isolation advice is here)
• Watch for symptoms of COVID-19 (see below).

If your school is identified as having a confirmed COVID-19 case, Public Health will always endeavour to notify you, in liaison with the Ministry of Education, as soon as possible. However, it is also advisable to closely monitor the Ministry of Health’s Locations of Interest page.

Unless you have been contacted about a case at your school, you should simply continue adhering to the health advice that applies during the current Alert Level. Please also continue to

• Watch for COVID-19 symptoms
• Self-isolate and get tested if unwell. Phone Healthline: 0800 358 5453 (a free 24/7 service with interpreters available) or your local doctor for advice.

For more information www.covid19.govt.nz