Even Filipino children were not spared from the reported growing “panic” and “xenophobia” around the coronavirus epidemic in New Zealand.
The children, aged 7 to 12, were told to “self-isolate” for 14 days after they returned to Papakura Normal School on Monday.
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In a report by New Zealand Herald, these Filipino children came back from a holiday in the Philippines and had no history of travel to China.
They were all permanent residents now in New Zealand living together with their families.
One of the children’s moms, Beth Botor shared that she was surprised to see the deputy principal Alice Copeland knocking on their front door and telling her that she should isolate her two kids.
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She said this was not the case with her two sons who didn’t have any problem in going back to school in Rosehill College.
Beth’s husband, Ronnel, was also advised to go home for 14 days.
Another mother named Jane Dumalaon, who also works with the same store as Ronel, had also took a leave to take care of her daughters who were sent home.
However, the school’s principal Derek Linington apologized to the two families and told them they were free to go back to school.
Ministry of Education deputy secretary Katrina Casey urged schools to always keep tabs on updates from their websites.
A spokeswoman from the ministry clarified that the quarantine only applies to those New Zealand citizens who went to mainland China, which does not include Hong Kong, Macau, Taiwan, and the Philippines.
