H202108344 response.pdf

L MINISlR' Of
r;J HEALTH
133 Molesworth
Street
PO Box 5013
Wellington 6140
New Zealand
T +64 4 496 2000
3 August 2021
Lobby New Zealand
By email:
fyi-request-16014-eb [email address]
Ref:
H202108344
Tena koe  Lobby New Zealand
Response to your request for official information
Thank  you for your request under the Official Information Act 1982 (the Act) to the  Ministry of
Health (the Ministry) on 8 July 2021 for:
" .. .  all resources provided and all communications between the Ministry of Health,  or
any other relevant agency,  and education providers in New Zealand,  induding pre
schools, kindergartens, primary schools,  etc,  regarding the ongoing nationwide RSV
outbreak."
Three documents have been identified within the  scope of your request and copies are
enclosed. My decision on the release of each document is outlined in the Appendix 1 table.
I trust this information fulfils your request. Under section 28(3) of the Act you have the right
to ask the Ombudsman to review any decisions made under this request. The Ombudsman
may be contacted by email at: [email address] or by calling 0800 802 602.
Nak0 noa, na
97J�df/
Deborah Woodley
Deputy Director-General
Population Health  and Prevention

Document 1
Winter respiratory illness
Information for ECCs, Kindergartens
and Kohanga Reo
Kia ora koutou
Currently a lot of pre-school children in the Wellington region are unwell. At this time of year
respiratory viruses including respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) are common in the community and
illnesses can be easily spread in schools and early childhood centres. Adults and older children get  1982
milder RSV illness but can pass it on to babies so we strongly recommend that people maintain good
hand hygiene, stay home if they have any symptoms of a respiratory tract illness
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Respiratory viruses cause the following symptoms: fever (temperature ≥38°C or feeling hot, sweaty,
and chills), cough, sore throat, runny or stuffy nose, body aches, headache and fatigue/ tiredness,
and sometimes diarrhoea and vomiting especially with small children.
Please advise parents and caregivers if they are worried about their child’s symptoms or if their child
has long-term health problems (e.g. asthma, diabetes, kidney, heart or immunity problems), then
they should phone their family doctor or Healthline for free on 0800 611 116 for further advice.
Most people recover at home and only need to see their doctor if the illness gets worse or is not
improving.
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If adults or children develop concerning symptoms, such as rapid breathing, difficulty breathing,
chest pain, severe vomiting, or if a child is not responding or is difficult to wake up, they should
seek medical attention immediately – including calling 111 for an ambulance if it is an emergency.
COVID-19
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Winter respiratory illness symptoms can be similar to COVID-19 symptoms. Children under 11 years
of age are not routinely tested for COVID-19 UNLESS the child:
 has been in contact with a COVID-19 case
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 returned from a place where there is COVID-19
 left managed isolation in the last 14 days
 or the doctor is concerned that the child has COVID-19.
Adults and teens with relevant respiratory symptoms DO require COIVD-19 testing if they have a
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respiratory illness. Call Healthline for free on0800 611 116 for further advice on COVID-19 testing
Controlling illness at your early learning centre
 Remind parents and caregivers of your centre’s illness policy
 Anyone who is unwell should stay at home until 24 hours after symptoms have stopped and
they are well. These symptoms usually last a week but in some cases, can last longer.
 Ensure excellent hand washing and drying for children and staff
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 Increase cleaning of frequently touched surfaces, especially at child height
 Open doors and windows to increase ventilation
 Please notify RPH by calling 04 570 9002 if a child from your centre is hospitalised or you
have large numbers of children from your centre away (more than 15% of the total roll).
The following link has some good tips for looking after people with influenza like illness and stopping
it spreading to other people at home: https://www.rph.org.nz/public-health-topics/early-childhood-
centres/fact-sheets/colds-and-flu-what-to-do-if-your-child-is-sick.pdf

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Information
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Document 3
From: Lucy Hall
Sent: Monday, 12 July 2021 10:12 am
To: Natasha Dingle <[email address]>
Cc: Media Responses Shared Mailbox <[email address]>
Subject: RE: RSV comms
Kia ora Natasha,
If it’s not too late here is some words:
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RSV update
There has been considerable media coverage regarding the RSV virus, which is impacting babies and
young children.
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Colds, flu and respiratory virus outbreaks are more common at this time of year and these illnesses
can be easily spread in schools and early childhood centres.
RSV is highly contagious and spreads very easily between people. Most adults and older children
with RSV will experience symptoms similar to the common cold.  However, very young children
and premature babies can become seriously ill and may require hospitalisation.
Please remember to keep up the usual hygiene measures - practice good hand hygiene, stay home if
unwell and seek medical advice if you’re concerned about your or someone else’s health.
It’s important to:
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
stay home and stay away from toddlers and babies if you are sick

child, toddlers and babies should not attend childcare centres or school until their symptoms
have resolved

continue to use good hand hygiene - ensure children and staff are regularly washing and
drying hands

cough and sneeze into your elbows, carefully discard dirty tissues

increase the cleaning of frequently touched surfaces, especially at child height. Toys which
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are shared among children should be washed in warm water and detergent at the end of
the day, or session, or more often if they are sneezed on or mouthed.

do not share cups, glasses or cutlery
the
The annual influenza season will be managed by regional Public Health services, and their response
may be different across DHBs. You may have received a fact sheet put out by the Auckland Regional
Public Health Service or the Wellington Regional Public Health service, which is available on their
websites.
Parent factsheet on colds and flu - ARPHS website
Parent factsheet on colds and flu - Wellington Regional Public Health website
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.
More Information on RSV is available on the Ministry of Health website
https://www.health.govt.nz/your-health/conditions-and-treatments/diseases-and-illnesses/respiratory-
syncytial-virus-rsv
Funding  [unchanged from before]
We have been receiving many questions about funding and what to do, should there be a higher than usual
number of absences. The ECE funding system has seen its fair share of annual influenza, floods and even a
pandemic. We have a number of supports in places, including:

The three week rule - which allows funding for 3 weeks of continuous absence regardless of reason.
See 6-5 of the funding handbook
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
The frequent absence rule - which allows for three months of irregular attendance before an enrolment
agreement needs to be reconfirmed or changed. See Chapter 6-7 of the funding handbook

Document 3
  The Absence rule exemption process (also called EC12/13 process) which gives an additional 12
weeks of absence funding.
  Chapter 7-7 Absence rule exemptions
  EC12 Absence Rule Exemption Application Form [PDF, 142KB]
  EC13 Form Supporting Medical Certificate [PDF, 43KB]

  Emergency closure – in the unlikely event that a Medical Officer of Health directs a service to close
temporarily. See Chapter 7-5 of the Funding Handbook.

  Discretionary hours - available to cover absences when a replacement certificated teacher cannot be
found.  As always, services should have evidence of attempts made to locate a certificated teacher to
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cover any absences.

If you have any questions please send your queries to [email address].
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Ngā mihi
Lucy

From: Natasha Dingle <[email address]>   Information
Sent: Monday, 12 July 2021 8:15 am
To: Lucy Hall <[email address]>
Cc: Media Responses Shared Mailbox <[email address]>
Subject: RE: RSV comms

Thanks Lucy.
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Apologies for the urgency and inaccuracies. I’ll pass this on to our ECE team.

From: Lucy Hall <[email address]>
the
Sent: Monday, 12 July 2021 8:13 AM
To: Natasha Dingle <[email address]>
Cc: Media Responses Shared Mailbox <[email address]>
Subject: RE: RSV comms

Hi Natasha,   under

I’ve sent this to the team for an urgent review – but I’m a little concerned that some of this
isn’t quite accurate.
If you do need to send it before I am able to have this properly reviewed by the experts.
Please can you tweak it as below.

Ngā mihi
Lucy

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Document 3
From: Natasha Dingle <[email address]>
Sent: Monday, 12 July 2021 7:23 am
To: Lucy Hall <[email address]>
Cc: Media Responses Shared Mailbox <[email address]>
Subject: Re: RSV comms

Asap today sorry
Get Outlook for Android
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From: Lucy Hall <[email address]>
Sent: Monday, July 12, 2021 7:07:28 AM
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To: Natasha Dingle <[email address]>
Cc: Media Responses Shared Mailbox <[email address]>
Subject: Re: RSV comms

Hi Natasha,

Thanks for sending through this draft.

When’s your deadline for this? I expect we may like to suggest some tweaks.

Information
Cheers,

Lucy Hall (she/her) | Senior Communications and Engagement Advisor
Office of the Director‐General
s 9(2)(a)

[email address]
Ministry of Health, 133 Molesworth Street Thorndon, Wellington 6011
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the



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s 9(2)(g)(i)
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Document 3
s 9(2)(g)(i)
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Information
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the
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From: Lucy Hall <[email address]>
Sent: Friday, 9 July 2021 4:15 PM
To: Natasha Dingle <[email address]>
Subject: RE: RSV comms

Document 3

Perfect. Thanks Natasha.
Will be in touch!

From: Natasha Dingle <[email address]>
Sent: Friday, 9 July 2021 4:13 pm
To: Lucy Hall <[email address]>; Media Responses Shared Mailbox
<[email address]>
Subject: RE: RSV comms
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HI Lucy,

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We don’t yet have someone working on this but I’m happy to work with you. I’ll check in with our
ECE team about how they want to manage that.

Many thanks,

Natasha

From: Lucy Hall <[email address]>
Sent: Friday, 9 July 2021 4:10 PM
To: Media Responses Shared Mailbox <[email address]>
Subject: RSV comms
Information

Hello,

I’ll be working on some national communications on RSV next week, to support the public
health response to RSV.

Would be keen to link in with someone from education, particularly re advice to ECEs. Do
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you know if there’s anyone in your comms team working on this?

Ngā mihi
the
Lucy

Lucy Hall
Senior Communications Advisor
Ministry of Health
Mobile: s 9(2)(a)

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http://www.health.govt.nz

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