The government has announced all primary school students in Auckland and Waikato can return to the classroom next Wednesday, but not all at the same time.
Auckland students in years 1-10 have been learning from home during the 13-week lockdown.
Major changes to the national curriculum and assessment programmes are also being delayed, or scaled down, so schools can concentrate on getting students and staff back into face to face learning.
On Wednesday there were 147 new community Covid cases, mostly in Auckland. A person in home isolation has died, with the cause yet to be confirmed, and 81 people are in hospital.
The Ministry of Health has details on the vaccination status of those in hospital. See here.
Education and Covid Response Minister Chris Hipkins acknowledges it is not exactly 'situation normal'.
Hipkins acknowledged for many students returning to school it will initially only be two or three days a week.
“We have allowed schools a bit of flexibility to work out what's going to be best for the school and for the school community, recognising that some schools are absolutely packed in, therefore they're likely to have smaller numbers of students back in order to maintain the distancing.”
