24 Mar 2020

Parent sends aroha as school copes with four Covid-19 cases

10:10 pm on 24 March 2020

A parent from Marist College says students and teachers are stressed and shocked after finding out four people from the school have tested positive for Covid-19.

Mihingarangi Forbes in NZ Wars: Stories of Waitara

Marist College board member and parent Mihingarangi Forbes says parents are trying to work out the best way to isolate their children. Photo: RNZ / Great Southern Television

One person was confirmed as positive on Sunday, with parents alerted to three more cases yesterday afternoon.

All of the roughly 750 students and staff members are now classed as close contacts.

Board member and parent Mihingarangi Forbes said parents were trying to work out the best way to isolate their children while the rest of the family was in lockdown.

She had space for her daughter to have her own room and bathroom but was conscious it would be a lot tougher for some, she said.

"They should be in self isolation within your house but some families are not going to be able to do this so just do your best," she said.

Parents were sent a letter by the school yesterday to tell them about the latest cases and the fact they were close contacts.

"This means that families need to assume that their daughter has been in contact with a teacher or student that has Covid-19," it said.

"This does not mean that your daughter will get the virus, yet we have a duty of care to inform you," the letter said.

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Marist College in Auckland. Photo: Marist College

Forbes said there was a lot of stress amongst the school community and she wanted to send them aroha.

"It's a bit of a shock for everybody. Who wants to be the school with four confirmed cases of Covid 19? Well we are," she said.

  • If you have symptoms of the coronavirus, call the NZ Covid-19 Healthline on 0800 358 5453 (+64 9 358 5453 for international SIMs)

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