Virus putting schools ‘under lot of pressure’
CORONAVIRUS is putting huge pressure on schools with thousands of pupils, teachers and other staff members self-isolating across Leicestershire.
Officials in the city and county have revealed figures showing the impact Covid-19 is having on the education system across Leicestershire.
There are presently more than 14,000 pupils unable to attend school because they have been in contact with someone who has had the virus.
Leicestershire County Council says 7,500 pupils are self-isolating, while in the city council area another 6,666 students are off learning from home.
The total school-age population in the city and county is just over 150,000.
There have been calls for schools to be closed to stem the spread of the virus as the second wave continues but the government has said they must remain open as a priority.
Latest figures show there have been 1,385 confirmed cases of coronavirus associated with city and county schools since the start of the pandemic.
Cases among staff total 523 with more than 850 infections among pupils this term.
Education and public health officials say the systems set up within schools to stop the spread of the virus are working and cases are being largely picked up in the community but detected in schools.
County Hall’s director of public health Mike Sandys said: “Schools are under a lot of pressure – not just in terms of cases but also the number of pupils and teachers who need to selfisolate. That’s making life really difficult and head teachers and teachers are doing their best to try to keep education going.
“We are still seeing it’s older teenagers in secondary school and younger adults that have got the higher rates of infection but I do wonder if that is to do with behaviour outside the school settings – socialising, teenage parties.
“The problem group is the later teenagers where the issue is not in the classroom or the sixth form college but everything else – it’s lunchtime, it’s going home on the bus and going round their mates.”
Councillor Deborah Taylor, county council cabinet member for children and young people, said: “To date about 1 per cent of the total under-18 population in Leicestershire has had a confirmed case of covid, which is in line with the national average.
“We are working closely with schools and we know that reducing the transmission of coronavirus is their highest priority.
We are working closely with schools and we know that reducing the transmission of coronavirus is their highest priority.