Kia ora
You may have seen that the World Health Organisation has now declared COVID-19 to be a pandemic. As noted by the Minister of Health, this doesn’t change what New Zealand is doing to respond to coronavirus.
The Ministry of Health has been working through its pandemic plan since January. You will also know the Government has already implemented a range of measures to minimise the impacts to New Zealand. This includes border restrictions, a requirement to self-isolate on arrival in New Zealand from China, Iran, Italy and the Republic of Korea and immediate and detailed contact tracing of any confirmed cases. It is important to note those four countries account for more than 90% of cases globally and China and the Republic of Korea have significantly declining numbers of new cases.
We have 5 confirmed cases of COVID-19 in New Zealand and it is pleasing to know they are all doing well and are at home. Their children, four students at Auckland schools, continue to be well and show no symptoms. While we expect that more cases will arise, the Ministry of Health says that with continued vigilance the chance of widespread community outbreak is expected to remain low in New Zealand. We all have a role to play in this.
For our school, our pandemic plan is also ready to be implemented if needed. In the mean time we will continue to focus on good hygiene practices. Hand washing and good cough etiquette are very important tools in preventing the spread of illness including colds, flu and COVID-19.
With that, there is a good video clip from Nanogirl that will help your children to better understand the virus – YouTube clip – Nanogirl
You may have also seen the Prime Minister sat down with Dr Michelle Dickinson (aka Nanogirl) and the Prime Minister’s Chief Science Advisor, Juliet Gerrard, to talk about coronavirus:
One other action we can all take is to be vigilant about our own health and the health of our children. I will be expecting my staff to stay away from school if they are showing signs of illness such as coughs and colds. I ask that you please do the same with your children. Colds and flus are common in schools and by staying away, seeking medical attention and practicing good hygiene, we can all keep any spread of illness to a minimum.
Ngā mihi
Janine
亲爱的家长们您们好
您可能看到世界卫生组织已经宣布 COVID-19 为大流行病。遵从卫生部长的指示，这不会改变新西兰对冠状病毒的反应。
自一月份以来，卫生部一直在为这个可能发生的大流行作准备。您也知道政府已经采取了一系列措施，以最大程度来减少对新西兰的影响。这包括入境限制，并且要求从中国，伊朗，意大利和韩国回来新西兰的人必须自我隔离，以及对所有确诊病例的即时和详细联系追踪。值得注意的是，这四个国家占全球病例的90％以上，而且中国和韩国的新病例数量大大减少。
在新西兰有5例确诊的 COVID-19 病例，令人高兴的是，他们的情况都很好，而且在家中自我隔离。他们的孩子是奥克兰学校的四名学生，他们仍然是健康的，没有任何症状。尽管我们预计还会有更多的病例发生，但卫生部表示，在不断提高警惕的情况下，新西兰社区广泛爆发的可能性预计仍然很低。每个人都可以以身作则发挥作用。
对于我们的学校，如果需要，我们的应对措施也已准备就绪。与此同时，我们将继续宣導良好的卫生习惯。洗手和良好的咳嗽礼仪是预防疾病传播的重要方式，包括感冒，流感和 COVID-19。
Nanogirl 提供了一个很好的视频剪辑，它将帮助您的孩子更加容易了解该病毒 – YouTube 剪辑-Nanogirl
您可能也已经看到总理与 Michelle Dickinson 博士（又名 Nanogir l）和总理的首席科学顾问 Juliet Gerrard 坐下来谈论冠状病毒：
我们所有人都可以采取的另一项措施是对自己的健康和孩子的健康保持最佳状态。如果员工表现出咳嗽和感冒等疾病的征兆，我相信他们不会来学校。请您和您的孩子也这么做。感冒和流感在学校很普遍，通过不来学校，在家休息，寻求医疗护理和保持良好的卫生习惯，我们可以将任何疾病的传播降至最低。
祝福您
Janine
