The correspondence system had begun to function smoothly when it was announced that schools would return on 1 March, earlier than expected. There was general rejoicing for “feats of scholarship are impossible at home and the excitement soon palled so that the news that we were to recommence on 3 March was received gladly in all quarters – even the masters evinced slight pleasure at seeing us again”. 39 If one flu epidemic caused the creation of the College Hospital, it was another one in 1969 that created cubicles in the Houses. New Zealand reported evidence of SARS in 2003 but there was no impact on schools. College instigated a pandemic plan at the time of the swine flu outbreak in 2009 and Housemasters monitored boys who had been travelling. All boys had a week’s work in hand if they were not able to attend school but, over time, there was a decreased likelihood of wholesale school closures. 40 The development of vaccines has decreased the propensity of the spread of many of the infections that have caused epidemics where people have been living in close proximity to each other. Diphtheria vaccine was generally available in 1941, polio in 1960, and the triple vaccine of measles, mumps, and rubella in 1990. The influenza vaccine was first accessible to specific groups in 1997. It has gradually increased its availability. Scarlet fever is treated with antibiotics, but there is recent evidence that the bacteria causing it have mutated with the risk of resurgence. 41 However, it is all very well to write about the past, but what about the present? How many variants of the SARS-CoV-2 (Covid-19) virus are yet to come? Over the past two years, we have negotiated lockdowns, Alert Levels and Traffic Light Settings. We returned to College in 2020 with handwashing and personal hygiene to the fore. We negotiated social distancing by walking on either side of painted white lines. We cancelled Congers, Chapel and Assemblies, looked after our overseas students and managed to see Evita , albeit remotely in multiple
locations. Online learning and home schooling tested everyone – both those who created it and those who received and supervised it. Flexibility in the juggling of the calendar enabled most events to go ahead, including the return of House Music to the Town Hall. In 2021, there was another lockdown, briefer this time, but still disruptive. As the year wore on, we made individual choices about vaccinations, turned on Bluetooth tracing on our phones, scanned QR codes, and lined up at Covid-19 testing stations. Now in 2022, we are watching long absence lists and making sure we have masks in our pockets and on our faces. Sniffles and coughs make us reach for the Rapid Antigen Tests (RATs). The big question confronting us all now is how long will this pandemic last and how long will the Health Centre – now in its post-earthquake location in the ground floor of Selwyn – need to have a sandwich board outside its door?
39 Christ’s College Register June 1948 p326. 40 Christ’s College Board Minutes 30 April 2009 and 18 June 2009. 41 The History of Immunisation in New Zealand . https://www.health.govt.nz/our-work/immunisation-handbook-2020/appendix-1- history-immunisation-new-zealand
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