Teams asked to check immunity

28–29 Almost 2000 secondary school volleyball players and their support teams will congregate in Palmerston North from Sunday despite the challenges of heightened security concerns and the Canterbury measles outbreak.

The annual week-long national tournament at Central Energy Trust Arena sits high on the list of events bringing economic benefits to the region – it 30–31 32 was worth more than $1.8 million in 2017.

Sport Manawatu¯ sport development manager Tania Garrett, liaising with Volleyball New Zealand to help organise the tournament, said none of the Canterbury teams had withdrawn as a result of the terror attacks on their city’s mosques.

Organisers were following guidance from the national school sport body in deciding the tournament would go ahead following the Christchurch tragedies.

The tournament will begin 33 with a minute’s silence at the official opening on Sunday night.

Garrett said the need for extra security around the large gathering would be discussed with police, and organisers would work to fit in with any national day of mourning or remembrance services that might be set up.

Precautions to keep the competitors safe had also been put in place to ensure the championships did not provide a forum for the spread of measles.

Midcentral District Health Board medical officer of health Rob Weir urged schools to ensure 34 36 participants were immunised against the disease.

Canterbury had notified 30 cases of measles and there had been another seven around the country.

Weir said it was of note that only five confirmed Canterbury cases were in the 10-19-year age group.

The immunisation message continued to be valid right up to and during the tournament, as unlike other vaccines, a single dose of MMR within 72 hours of contact with an infectious person could be effective in stopping the 37–40 disease in its tracks.

Weir said anyone who developed measles should be isolated and susceptible contacts of known cases should be placed in quarantine. So far, the regional covered by the Midcentral board has remained measles-free, despite 10 suspected cases. Eight had produced negative laboratory tests and the remaining two were also expected to be negative.

Weir said the contacts of every case had to be tracked carefully, because carriers were infectious for several days before they knew they were sick.