Measles outbreak: 50% of staff at Queenstown School is concerned about the virus

A Queenstown primary school sent half of its staff home due to the measles outbreak in the city.

Remarkables Primary School confirmed two cases of measles last week and since then has asked more than 20 teachers, learning assistants and administrative staff to stay away due to their immunization status.

The school was also forced to cancel participation in some local events, including a ski trip to The Remarkables on Friday.

The total number of confirmed measles cases in Queenstown remains at 20. Nineteen are local residents and a visitor from Auckland.

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Remarks director Debbie Dickson said the Wakatipu Basin educational community had come to their aid so that relief workers could cover the classes.

The 56 staff members of the school, half of whom are expected to stay home until 17 September.

She did not mean how many students had been absent because of the measles outbreak for confidentiality reasons.

The school was working closely with the Southern District Health Council (SDHB) over the past five days, Dickson said.

"We have made sure our vaccination records are up-to-date for staff and students, and our school register has been shared with SDHB."

SDHB is continuing its efforts to control the epidemic and prevent its spread to other regions.

Director of Communications Vanessa Barrett said 200 people had access to the first free clinic at the hospital on Tuesday.

Another clinic was held in St. John's in Frankton on Wednesday and another will be held on Thursday.

"The majority [coming to the clinic] were adults and this is consistent with our understanding that child immunization rates are high. "

The Medical Officer of Health, Dr. Susan Jack, said that all members of the community should do their part to stop the spread of measles and protect people who could not be vaccinated because of their age, allergies and their health problems.

If you are a contact of a confirmed case and you are asked to isolate yourself, then follow these instructions, otherwise if you think you have measles, you should isolate yourself until you Make sure you do not go to the doctor, emergency or emergency center, call ahead for advice or call Healthline on 0800 611 116. "

Unvaccinated people should be aware that they may be contagious before presenting the symptoms, she said.

"If you are not vaccinated and have been in contact with a case of measles, you must be isolated for 14 days."

NZSki chief executive Paul Anderson said about 500 staff had used the free vaccination clinic last week after several staff had tested positive for measles.

"Everyone in the mountains has been vaccinated … It was a great logistical exercise."

Auckland has been plagued by a measles epidemic for more than six months and 1131 cases of highly contagious virus have been confirmed around New Zealand.