Sickness hits Nelson schools
Some schools are seeing their rolls drop by up to 20 per cent due to sickness. Photo: 123rf.com.
The “long shadow of Covid” has caused a spike in winter illnesses, according to a local GP, with some Nelson schools reporting up to 20 per cent of their students away sick at any one time.
Several primary and intermediate schools are seeing a rise in the number of students and staff with “lingering” cases of flu and gastro bugs - but not so much Covid-19.
Nelson GP spokesperson, Dr Graham Loveridge, believes kids’ immune systems are being hit harder than usual this year due to many viruses not being circulated the past few winters because of lockdowns, mask-wearing, and other Covid-19 restrictions.
“We are seeing Covid lessening now - dominated by other respiratory viruses,” he says.
“Kids are now more vulnerable to these, and we are seeing many kids bouncing from one thing to another. This is the long shadow of Covid - because of past Covid restrictions, we weren’t transmitting anything else.”
Last Friday, Hampden Street School had 94 children away sick out of 450. That is around 20 per cent of their roll.
“We also had six classroom teachers out of 19 who were away sick, and two teacher aides,” says tumuaki (principal) Don McLean.
“It has been mainly the flu, but we have also had stomach bugs as well.”
Tumuaki at Nelson Intermediate School, Di Webb, also says they have been “hit hard” with sickness, with up to 20 per cent of ākonga (students) away on some days, and Nelson Central School found themselves with almost a quarter of the school away sick in a single day.
“These illnesses seem to be lingering for longer and taking students a long time to recover from. This is also the case for staff, too, and at times we are struggling to find relievers to cover classes,” Di says.
Sonya Hockley, tumuaki at Auckland Point School, says last week they had 15 per cent of their roll away due to either flu or gastric illnesses, with Covid-19 now being the “lesser infection”.
“We have had large numbers away for the past three weeks and many of our whānau are seeking medical advice or attending their GP or emergency medical services.
“The rise in cases of sickness has escalated and the length of time children are away has varied from four to 10 days.”
Nelson Hospital has also seen a “noticeable increase” in presentations to ED of school-aged children, according to Steve Low, interim chief medical officer at Te Whatu Ora Nelson Marlborough.
“Testing has shown these patients have mainly had RSV or the flu, with some Covid-19 cases.”
He encourages people to keep up practices such as mask-wearing when visiting healthcare services, on public transport, in taxis, in crowded indoor places, in poorly ventilated spaces, or when it is hard to physically distance from other people.
“Our experience with Covid-19 has taught us a lot about how effective public health measures are at protecting us from all airborne viruses, such as the flu.”
Graham echoes Steve’s advice.
“Masks still have a place. The bulk of these viruses can be at their worst over July, August, and September. Get plenty of sleep, keep your hands clean, and ensure rooms have good ventilation.”