Virus warning for principals

School principals are being urged to delay the start of the school year for staff or students who have recently been to China over fears of coronavirus.

The Ministry of Education’s education secretary, Iona Holsted, said the ministry had warned school principals to ‘‘err on the side of caution’’ regarding the coronavirus situation.

Children and young people were returning to classrooms and the health of students and staff was a priority, she said.

Official advice for principals included a list of steps to take that advised keeping students out of school if they had been in China.

‘‘For any staff member or student who may be at high risk of exposure because they have recently been to China or have been in close contact with someone confirmed with the virus, I encourage you to ask that the staff member or parent/ caregiver of the student delay the start of their school year for 14 days and voluntarily stay away.’’

The advice stated that anyone who was unwell should not be at school or at their early learning service, and also provided a number for Healthline.

If a student still attends school while showing symptoms, the principal of a state school could preclude them if they believed on reasonable grounds the student may have a communicable disease, her advice said.

‘‘The student has to stay away for the infectious period of the specific disease.’’

This did not apply to private schools but principals could ask a student who had an infectious disease or who was suspected of having an infectious disease to not attend.

Principals could also ask a staff member who had or who was suspected of having an infectious disease to not attend.

Meanwhile, National Party education spokeswoman Nikki Kaye has written to the education minister asking about what support was in place for schools, early learning centres and tertiary institutions.

She sought the urgent advice on Sunday but was yet to get a response.

‘‘Tens of thousands of international students will be arriving in New Zealand to study over the coming weeks, some of them from places which have been affected by the outbreak. There needs to be clear advice for host families, parents, schools and teachers about what they should do if an outbreak were to occur.’’

Some schools started back on Monday and more will be starting later this week.

The University of Canterbury expected ‘‘several hundred’’ new Chinese students to enrol in person from February 11 to 13.

The university was exploring late enrolments for students whose travel from China was disrupted.

It had urged staff and students to reassess whether planned trips to China were essential and had ‘‘contingency plans’’ in case the situation changed, a spokeswoman said.

Official advice for principals included a list of steps to take that advised keeping students away from school if they had been in China.