School Student Tests Positive For COVID-19

As was announced by the Director-General of the Ministry of Health, a Dunedin student has tested positive for COVID-19.

He is the son of a Dunedin man who was confirmed as testing positive earlier today.

The student attends Logan Park High School.

Southern DHB Medical Officer of Health Susan Jack says the school will close for at least 48 hours while close contacts are traced and put in self-isolation and casual contacts given advice about what to do if they become unwell. The school will be carefully cleaned before reopening.

Southern DHB Public Health staff have already started contact tracing to identify individuals who may have come into close contact with the parent and will be working with the school and family to identify any close contacts of the student over the next 24 to 48 hours.

Close contacts will be contacted by Public Health staff and will go into self-isolation for 14 days from their last contact with the student.

Casual contacts (staff or students who have been more than two metres away and/or have had less than 15 minutes contact with the student case) do not need to self-isolate. They will be able to return to school as usual when the school re-opens.

People potentially involved in the case should monitor their health over the next 14 days and call Healthline on 0800 358 5453 if they have any concerns. The Ministry of Health is updating the information available on its website on a daily basis, and is holding daily media briefings (available to watch live via their website). This is the most reliable source of the latest information for New Zealand.

“We appreciate that there are many concerns in the community at the moment. It is most important in these challenging times that we care for and support one another, and continue to play our part in preventing the spread for this illness,” Dr Jack says.

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