Covid-positive staff member closes Auckland college

October 31, 2021

Senior students at an East Auckland school have been told to stay home after a support staff member tested positive for Covid-19 on Sunday.

A notice on the Macleans College school website said all students will be taught remotely on Monday and Tuesday to allow any impacted staff to get a Covid test.

The notice said the staff member had not been in contact with any students.

It comes as Auckland recorded 135 new Covid-19 cases on Sunday, as part of 143 new cases nationwide.

The Government is expected to make a decision on Monday around whether Auckland should move to step two of Alert Level 3 in the phased roadmap system.

The sharp increase in cases is a major concern.

If approved, it would allow retail to open, as well as libraries, pools and zoos. Outdoor catch ups, funerals, tangi and weddings would also have a limit increase to 25 people.

But taking this step while case numbers were continuing to rise and the transmission rate remained above one could see daily case numbers soon rise as high as 500, modeller Shaun Hendy told 1News.

"We wouldn't see the effect immediately, but after a couple of weeks we'd see the R number head up to 1.5 - 1.6 and that would quickly push case numbers up and we would see 200-300, maybe even 500 cases a day, which would put extreme pressure on our public health system," Hendy said.

SHARE ME

More Stories