The Ministry of Education says 320 schools and early learning centres are managing Covid-19 cases, double the number at the start of the week.
The number of schools and early learning centres managing Covid-19 cases has doubled since the beginning of the week. Photo: 123RF
The ministry said the figures covered the centres and schools its staff were supporting as at 10.30am today, and were not definitive.
Primary schools were seeing a particularly rapid growth in case numbers, with the ministry working with 196 this morning, up from 76 on Monday.
Nationally, 50 early childhood services and 57 secondary schools were also managing cases.
The figures showed Covid-19 was now affecting 30 percent of the schools in Auckland, however the data did not show where people had caught the virus.
Auckland Secondary Schools Principals' Association president Steven Hargreaves told Checkpoint some schools were back to remote learning like last year.
"It's right in amongst us. I know a couple of schools are closed completely and they've gone to remote learning.
"We're all just clinging on, and we know that at some point we are going to lose a lot of staff and students home isolating and probably go back to remote learning like we did last year."
He said the pool of relief teachers was small, with many choosing not to go into schools saying the risk of Covid-19 was too high.
Hargreaves said they were in talks with the Minister of Education to be considered critical workers, and have access to RAT tests, so students and staff could get back into the classroom.
Listen to the Checkpoint interview with Auckland Secondary Schools Principals' Association president Steven Hargreaves