Almost 900 Hull pupils ‘off school’ due to Covid
STUDENTS HAVE EITHER TESTED POSITIVE OR ARE AWAITING RESULTS
A TOTAL of 883 Hull pupils were absent from school due to “coronavirus-related reasons” as of Tuesday.
Hull City Council figures showed the current total covered pupils off either because they had contracted coronavirus or because they were awaiting test results.
The amount of those awaiting tests because they have had symptoms is thought to be higher than the total number of pupils confirmed to have contracted the virus.
It comes as Department for Education figures showed there were 209,000 school absences related to coronavirus nationally as of Thursday, October 14.
More than half, about 111,000, were off because of confirmed coronavirus cases.
The total is around 2.6 per cent of the country’s school pupils, up from the roughly 2.5 per cent or 204,000 off on Thursday, September 30. But figures also showed the percentage of those in school rose from 89.5 per cent to 90 per cent between each date respectively.
The increase in the number coronavirus related school absences has led to concerns that pupils mixing under looser social distancing restrictions is fuelling case spikes in wider communities.
East Riding Council’s public health lead Andy Kingdom told Hull Live the infection rate per 100,000 people for 11 to 15 year olds was 1,800 between Tuesday, October 5, and Monday, October 11.
Mr Kingdom added East Riding rates for five to ten-year-olds were around 900, compared with 456 per
100,000 for the whole population during the same period.
The public health director also said he hoped the upcoming October half term would act as a “firebreak”.
He added public health officials hoped it would curb the current trend of pupils mixing, catching coronavirus and then passing it on to relatives, friends and others in their communities. Mr Kingdom said he hoped the 12 to 15 vaccine rollout will help stop further coronavirus cases in the wider population.