A student who was infectious with measles was at Albany Senior High on Thursday 27 and Friday 28 April. Photo: Facebook / Albany Senior High School
About 90 staff and students at a school where measles has been identified do not have adequate proof of immunity to the virulent and dangerous disease, and a chemist has been listed as a possible exposure point.
Last week an Albany Senior High School student tested positive for the virus prompting the school to close.
So far, there are just two positive cases, a student and one of their household contacts who likely infected the student and who had recently travelled overseas.
Nevertheless, the school had announced classes would be held online on Monday 8 May while authorities worked to contain any possible links to the disease.
Public health officials were working out who among the school's 1000 staff and students might not be vaccinated or immune to the disease.
The school said a number of staff were still waiting for test results.
Principal Claire Amos said no new cases were found over the weekend, and students would keep learning from home on Monday but the school was hoping to resume face-to face classes for most students tomorrow.
She told Midday Report it had been "relatively easy" for the Ministry of Health to determine the vaccination status of most students via the national vaccination register, but a small number of students who were not on the register had been invited to a pop-up testing station to check whether they were immune or not.
"That's a bit of a work in process."
The vast majority of the school's staff had now had their vaccination status confirmed and been cleared to return to school tomorrow, Amos said.
"There will be a small number who - for whatever reason - have been confirmed as not immune through blood tests, and they will have to work from home and teach from home until the end of the week."
Students who had been confirmed as not immune would also have to learn from home until Friday, she said.
Auckland Regional Public Health Service said there were about 75 students and 14 staff who might not be fully protected.
The agency had arranged for those people to be tested, had contacted them to ask that they isolate, and planned to check with them regularly about whether they had any measles symptoms.
The Ministry of Health had also listed a possible measles exposure event in Auckland on its website.
It said the risk was low, but that anyone who was at Chemist Warehouse in Albany on Thursday 20 April, between 2.45pm and 4.30pm and who was not immune should be watchful for symptoms. (Details about who was and was not considered immune were listed on the website).
Measles is a highly contagious viral disease that can be fatal and cause long-term damage, but is "easily preventable with immunisation" the Ministry of Health website said.
Symptoms develop between seven and 13 days after exposure and include fever, cough, runny nose, sore and watery 'pink' eyes, and later a blotchy rash.
A blotchy rash is one of the symptoms of measles people should watch out for, particularly if they are not immune, the Ministry of Health said. Photo: CDC Public Health Image Library
Anyone who thought they could have measles should call [www.healthline.govt.nz Healthline] on 0800 611 116 or ring their GP, the ministry said. But because of how transmissible the disease is, they were asked not to visit their doctor without calling first.
Pop up vaccination clinics were held in Auckland during the weekend.