COVID-19 Response Minister Chris Hipkins stands by his decision to keep schools open, despite 75 percent of schools across the country dealing with active cases.
Te Kura Kaupapa o Hoani Waititi Marae has had two years' experience tackling COVID-19 - but it still couldn't stop Omicron getting in.
"We closed for about a week and it just allowed us to gather ourselves," said Hare Rua, principal of Te Kura Kaupapa Māori o Hoani Waititi Marae.
It's a kura of about 300 kids from under-fives to 18-year-olds, but half of them and half of their teachers are off because of COVID-19. Now, they've had to drop Fridays until the end of the term.
"It's making sure that everything is transparent as can be and communicating that and having whānau be a part of the decision-making," said Rua.
The Ministry of Education's latest figures reveal 51,773 COVID-19 cases reported in schools in the past 10 days. There are cases in 75 percent of schools in Aotearoa.
Data Analyst Dr Rawiri Taonui says schools have become the super-spreaders of Omicron and opening them at the beginning of February and keeping them open recently were huge mistakes.
"The tamariki vaccinations were just beginning and the vaccination numbers were really low so the two came together and that's spread to all communities - but particularly a rise in the Māori communities."
Dr Lily Fraser, a GP at Turuki Healthcare, says she's been seeing a lot of children getting COVID-19 at school.
And there have been impacts on mental wellbeing - from both staying at home and being at school.
Dr Taonui fears with more than 200,000 Māori children under 12 years-old currently unvaccinated, they will dominate cases at the tail end of Omicron - just like with Delta.
"That presents a major risk for circulating of cycles of transmission infection," he said.
But Chris Hipkins is standing by the decision to keep schools open and says each school has the tools and freedom to implement what's best for them.
"We are continuing to supply as much extra support for them and doing that as we can," he said.
The minister has resisted setting up vaccination centres on all school grounds, but supports schools and kura kaupapa who want to do it.
