Kearney expects the school to be back open on Wednesday.
“This decision was not taken lightly. This is not our normal practice. We hope Tuesday’s public holiday allows us to reset. Thank you for your understanding,” Kearney said.
New Zealand Herald reports about 39 teachers and 10 support staff have contracted COVID-19 over the past few days.
Kearney told the Herald he believes the outbreak stemmed from the school’s teacher-only day.
The outbreak comes as New Zealand is grappling with a fifth wave of COVID infections.
In the week to January 28, Te Whatu Ora Health NZ reported 258 people were in hospital with COVID and 20 people died.