As sickness swirls through schools and early education providers, it’s not just children that are being forced to call in absent.
Children's attendance dropped noticeably last week, compared to the week prior, as a wave of respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) sees hospitals around the country overrun.
On Friday, just 69.7 per cent of young children enrolled in Early Childhood Education providers attended school according to data provided by the Ministry of Education.
That's down nearly six per cent compared to the week before.
The New Zealand Educational Institute (NZEI), the country’s largest education union, told 1 NEWS the spike in infections is “definitely having an impact” on staffing, particularly in Early Childhood Centres.
Union spokesperson for ECE, Virginia Oakley, said both teachers and children are actively encouraged to stay home when sick.
Starship's Dr Mike Shepherd says parents should keep their child's fluids up and keep them warm.
“We’ve seen that cases of RSV are increasing, and it’s obviously increasing absences, but that’s why we have policies in place for our teachers.”
RSV is a common virus that’s highly contagious and spreads through coughing and sneezing droplets.
Almost all children contract the virus under the age of two. Still, in severe cases in infants, it can turn into bronchiolitis or pneumonia.
Yesterday, Director-General of Health Dr Ashley Bloomfield noted he was “concerned” about the sudden rise in cases, noting its the worst he's seen in his career.
In May, the total reported cases of RSV was 19, but by June, it was close to one thousand.
Oakley says the spike in teachers needing to stay home from work further reinforces the need for increasing the available sick leave.
From 24 July, most Kiwis will be entitled to a boost in sick leave days available as it increases from five to 10 sick days a year.
It’s part of the Government’s measures in light of Covid-19 to prevent the risk of spreading illness.
But the rise in teachers needing to take up sick leave further puts strain on an industry suffering from a critical worker shortage.
Oakley told 1 NEWS the wave of illness has been felt across the sector as its workforce dwindles downwards.
It comes as more DHBs report an upswing in cases.
While new border exemptions will make way for 300 overseas teachers to plug the gap, she said it’s not enough.
“That’s really great, but it’s not a solution to the problem. We need pay parity for ECE teachers alongside primary and secondary teachers.”
Last year, the Government gave the Early Childhood Education sector a $151 million salary funding boost through a 2.3 per cent increase to centre education and care rates.
However, not all of that was necessarily passed on. As the Ministry of Education couldn’t legally require providers to increase workers’ pay.
SHARE ME