'We're worried for our children': Logan Park parent speaks out

A parent of a Logan Park pupil has described living in a state of uncertainty amid news the school will be closed as 150 pupils are tested for Covid-19 and says the school should be keeping them better informed.

Ministry of Health Director-General Dr Ashley Bloomfield today announced that 150 close contacts of the infected pupil would be put into self-isolation for 14 days and tested.

The school which was initially closed for 48 hours would now be closed until at least the weekend.

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“This is a unique situation and is part of our precautionary approach.

Because not all the test results would be back until Friday, it was now advising the school to close now through to after the weekend.

All close contacts would be required to self-isolate for 14 days even if test results came back negative because it was possible they were incubating the virus.

The Logan Park High School pupil became symptomatic at the weekend, and attended school on Monday.

When his father's test result came back that day, he contacted his son, who then went home. His father developed symptoms of the virus five days after returning from a trip to Germany.

A parent of pupil at the school, who asked not to be named, has told the Otago Daily Times she and other parents are feeling “very nervous and stressed about what might be around the corner”.

She said she had not been told her son was one of the 150 close contacts, but he remained concerned.

“My son is autistic and is feeling very anxious about the uncertainty of the situation.

“He's scared he might've caught Covid-19 from the affected child too, and the school just hasn't told him yet.

“My time is being spent constantly reassuring him things will be okay, while making arrangements for continuing to work from home if the school closure drags out further."

She said she and other parents had been hearing from the school and the Ministry of Health via email once a day.

“While it's good to not be completely in the dark, more regular contact to keep us better updated would be useful, particularly to allay parent concerns that their child might have come into contact with the affected child.

“I know I'm not the only parent who would like to know their child has been definitively excluded as being one of the 150 who's been in close contact.

“I'm also surprised my son's key teacher hasn't been in contact with us to see how my son is coping, given anxiety is listed in his school records as being something that impacts his learning and wellbeing.”

She had been in touch with other parents and they were also stressed.

“I have, and parents are feeling very nervous and stressed about what might be around the corner if the LPHS shut down continues, and if Covid-19 is found to be present in other schools in the north end of town as is suspected, in particular North East Valley Normal School and Dunedin North Intermediate where many LPHS pupils have siblings.

“We're worried for our children, and for our own work situations, some of which aren't as flexible as others.”

However, another parent of a pupil at the school, Georgina Young, contacted the Otago Daily Times to say the school had been "as clear as day about what is happening and completely informative".

She was impressed by its handling of the matter, saying it was dealing with it in a "clear and caring way".

Logan Park School has about 718 pupils and a catchment area which encompasses North Dunedin, the central city and West Harbour.