Covid rates in South Island schools increase as peak passes Auckland

Author: NZ Herald,
Publish Date: Mon, 28 Mar 2022, 4:08PM

A growing number of schools in the South Island are being affected by Covid as Omicron continues to sweep the country.

New data released from the Ministry of Education shows 83 per cent of the 287 schools in the Canterbury region, which includes the Chatham Islands, are managing Covid cases.

The latest MoE figures are determined by the number of notified cases reported over the past 10 days.

The daily case figures are slightly down for the areas, though.

Two weeks ago, on March 14, there were 164 cases reported from Canterbury and Chatham Island schools and today there are 156.

Students and teachers at Christchurch Boys' High School were told to stay home today after the school reported 115 positive cases in a week from last Monday.

The school's Year 9 camp has also been postponed until further notice.

In the Otago/Southland region, 74 per cent of their 231 schools are affected, and the daily case tally in schools has jumped from 56 on March 14 to 102 today.

Schools in the Nelson/Marlborough/West Coast region also have an increase: from 45 to 52 in daily case numbers, and 72 per cent of the 127 schools in the regions reported positive cases across students, teachers and support staff.

In total, 14,525 cases of the virus have been detected in South Island schools over the past 10 days.

The figures for early learning centres (ELC) in the South Island also weighed heavier than most in the North Island.

In the Canterbury region and Chatham Islands, 56 per cent, the highest proportion nationwide, of ELCs are managing Covid cases.

In Otago and Southland, that figure is down to 41 per cent.

In Nelson, Marlborough and West Coast regions, 51 per cent of ELCs are affected.

Wellington figures aren't far behind those of the South Island.

There are 287 schools in the region, of which 71 per cent are managing Covid.

The area's daily case numbers in schools is also up today, to 96 from 80 on March 14.

In Auckland, where there are 567 schools, 62 per cent are managing Covid.

The city's daily case numbers in schools has dropped significantly too. In a fortnight, cases reported dropped from 278 to 161 today.

There are 12,882 new cases in the community today and 11 Covid-related deaths. A total of 861 people are in hospital with the virus, including 21 in ICU.