Kitchen staff at school are told to self-isolate after positive C-19 test
KITCHEN staff at a Runcorn high school have been told to self-isolate for the next two weeks after one of them tested positive for Covid-19.
Ian Critchley, principal at The Grange Academy, wrote to parents on Monday alerting them to the situation.
He said the worker who tested positive was last in school last Thursday, September 10, and 72 hours had passed since they were last in.
Mr Critchley said the kitchen team is now “self-isolating for 14 days” and the Halton School Meals service, which runs The Grange’s catering, is providing packed lunches instead with a “reduced service”.
He offered assurances that it remained safe for the school to open and urged parents to continue to send their child or children.
The headteacher said: “Please be assured that unless it was safe to do so, the school would not be open.
“We have no concerns that the kitchen staff member was in ‘close contact’ with students, which is set out below and we have taken advice from Public Health England.”
Examples of close contact include:
● Close face to face contact (under one metre) for any length of time – including talking to them or coughing on them
● Being within one to two metres of each other for more than 15 minutes – including travelling in a small vehicle
● Spending lots of time in your home, such as cleaning it.
He added: “I also want to reassure you that there is no reason why you should not continue to send your child(ren) into school.
“As you are aware, school is vital for children’s education and for their wellbeing. Time out of school is detrimental for children’s cognitive and academic development.
“I completely understand the feelings of anxiety and frustration; we are continuing to do everything possible to reduce the risk to our community.
“We will keep you up to date via our website and social media platforms.
“Please continue to work with us as we navigate through this challenging period and join us in wishing the member of staff well.”
The Grange Academy is part of the Wade Deacon Trust.