FILE PHOTO: Photo showing Bayfield School in Herne Bay which was closed due to the COVID-19 lockdown in Auckland, New Zealand. /Getty Images
New Zealand's Auckland and Waikato students in Years 1-10 can return to face-to-face learning at schools from November 17, Education Minister Chris Hipkins said on Wednesday.
"Lockdowns can be stressful for children and young people, so returning to some on-site learning will mean they can reconnect with their teachers and friends," Hipkins told a press conference.
This will provide certainty ahead of the Christmas break and before the new school year starts, he said.
Public health advice supports a return to onsite learning. Measures to help minimize the risk of COVID-19 will include mask wearing from Year 4 up in most cases, ventilating classrooms, limiting the number of students on site, and maintaining distance from each other among groups of children, Hipkins said.
Each school will decide what works best for their learners and their community. That might be by alternating days or half weeks, he said.
"It is clear that the risk of reopening schools is outweighed by the benefits of kids re-engaging with their learning face-to-face in this context," the minister said.
"With really strong vaccination rates, the balance of risk has shifted," he said, adding as vaccinations rates increase, including the requirement for teachers to have at least one COVID-19 vaccination from Monday, the risk to children and students is lowered.
Year 11-13 students have been back at school at Level 3 full-time for some weeks now to help re-engage in their learning, and prepare for exams.
Auckland, the country's largest city, and nearby Waikato have been the center of New Zealand's latest community outbreak of COVID-19 Delta variant since mid-August.
The country reported 147 new Delta variant cases of COVID-19 in the community on Wednesday, bringing the total number of confirmed cases to 4,813.
Among the new infections, 131 were recorded in Auckland, 14 in Waikato and two in Northland, according to the Ministry of Health.
On Wednesday, Auckland opened shops and allowed outside gatherings up to 25 people in further easing of COVID-19 restrictions.