Coronavirus: Covid-19 cases at two Auckland schools, preschool, MIT
Two Auckland schools and a preschool have shut their doors due to confirmed coronavirus cases linked to the facilities.
The Auckland Regional Public Health Service (ARPHS) said on Thursday evening Glamorgan School on the North Shore and the Southern Cross Campus in south Auckland were closed to a confirmed Covid-19 case at each facility.
Taeaofou | Puaseisei Preschool is also shut due to a coronavirus case.
Southern Cross and the preschool are both in Mangere East in south Auckland – Southern Cross takes pupils from years one to 13.
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Details of current cases on the Ministry of Health Website show a girl aged between one and four is among the latest cases in the Counties Manukau DHB.
In the same DHB catchment is a boy aged between five and nine whose positive test was also notified on Wednesday.
A girl aged between 10 and 14 and a boy aged between 15 and 19 are among the new cases in Waitematā DHB’s area.
None have links to overseas travel, according to the Ministry.
Earlier it was confirmed that an engineering student who studied at Manukau Institute of Technology in south Auckland and a pupil at Glamorgan School had both tested positive for the coronavirus.
The new cases in the city are linked to a south Auckland family who recently tested positive.
ARPHS said it was working with the schools and the preschools to track down close contacts of the confirmed cases.
It did not say whether the preschool case or the Southern Cross case was a staff member or a pupil.
Staff and families have been told to continue observing Auckland’s alert level three restrictions and remain in self-isolation until told otherwise by ARPHS.
PRIMARY SCHOOL PUPIL, ENGINEERING STUDENT AMONG NEW CASES
The MIT and Glamorgan School students are both among the 13 new cases of Covid-19 in the city linked to a south Auckland family who recently tested positive.
A letter sent by the Auckland Regional Public Health Service (ARPHS) to the Glamorgan School community on Thursday, and obtained by Stuff, said the child was last at school on Tuesday.
“As a result, the school will be fully closed to all staff and students, including children of essential workers, until at least Monday 17 August,” the letter said.
The child will be in isolation for at least 14 days and their family is self-isolating.
ARPHS said it would advise if the school needed to stay closed for longer, which could happen if other cases linked to Glamorgan emerged.
“There will be a great deal of concern in the school community, but the child did not have symptoms while at school.
“This means there is a lower risk of the illness having been passed to other students.”
ARPHS said it was working with the school to track down close contacts of the confirmed case, including the students and staff members who may have shared a class with the pupil.
Engineering student tests positive
An ARPHS letter to students and staff of the Manukau Institute of Technology (MIT) said the student was not on campus while infectious.
The campus buildings were considered safe and there was a very low risk to those at MIT, the letter said.
“The student currently is in self-isolation and will not be attending classes until they have been cleared by a medical officer at ARPHS.
“While there may be some concern in the MIT community, please be assured that it is very unlikely the person spread the virus on campus before becoming sick.”
An email to students from MIT chief executive Gus Gilmore said the student was studying in TechPark’s general engineering area based at the MIT South Campus in Ōtara, Auckland.
“The health service has carried out its full scoping exercise in relation to this case and has determined that the person was not sick or infectious while they were at MIT and there is a very low risk they passed on the illness to anyone while at the institute.”
Gilmore’s email said no MIT students or staff were deemed close contacts of the case by ARPHS.
The MIT campuses are closed as Auckland remains under alert level 3.
Thirteen new community cases
There are 13 new confirmed cases of coronavirus linked to the South Auckland family.
All cases are in Auckland and are being treated as a cluster. All new cases will now be moved to a quarantine facility, Director-General of Health Dr Ashley Bloomfield announced on Thursday.
“We fully expect there will be more cases – there are some symptomatic people. Of course, they have been tested, they are in isolation and all appropriate steps have been taken.”
The new cases are linked to the four positive Covid-19 tests confirmed in South Auckland on Tuesday evening, ending a 102-day run of no community transmission.
The new cases include three men in their 50s, two men in their 40s, a man in his 30s, a woman in her 60s, a woman in her 50s, a female toddler, a young boy, a girl aged between 10 and 14 and a male aged 15 to 19.
One of the original people infected worked at Americold, a coolstore company in Mt Wellington, where three other people have now tested positive.
Seven of the new cases are family members of those employees.
Stuff