HUNDREDS OF PUPILS MUST STAY AT HOME
Virus cases at two comprehensive schools
WHOLE year groups at two large comprehensive schools in Swansea have been told to self-isolate after positive coronavirus cases at both sites.
The move affects around 400 students.
WHOLE year groups at two large comprehensive schools in Swansea have been told to self-isolate after positive coronavirus cases at both sites.
The Year 11 bubble at Pontarddulais Comprehensive School and the Year 10 bubble at Bishopston Comprehensive School have been told to stay at home for 14 days from yesterday.
The move affects around 400 students across the two sites – 169 from Pontraddulais and 230 from Bishopston are being asked to self-isolate.
As well as those in the same year group bubble, pupils who shared the bus with the student who tested positive at Bishopston Comprehensive School “have been identified as contacts and have been asked to self-isolate,” according to a spokesman for Swansea Council.
Letters have been sent to the parents of students in both year groups affected, advising them what to do.
In both cases, the headteachers of the schools have sent letters to the parents of children who are outside the bubbles affected and have not been traced as contacts of the positive cases, advising them that the rest of the school is operating normally.
Several schools in Swansea have also had coronavirus cases in the past week. On Thursday, September 17, 450 sixthform students at Olchfa Comprehensive Schoolwere told to isolate and work from home and there have been confirmed cases at Trallwn Primary and Dunvant Primary.
And 10 pupils and eight members of staff at the Specialist Teaching Facility at Penyrheol Comprehensive were instructed to isolate for 14 days after someone tested positive for Covid-19.
A spokesman for Swansea Council said, in a statement covering both schools: “The council and the school are working closely with Public Health Wales and the NHS Wales Test Trace and Protect service to ensure that all the appropriate measures are in place to protect students, staff and the wider community.
“All contacts of the case have been identified and have received appropriate advice to self-isolate. Children who have not been identified as a contact do not need to self-isolate and do not require testing for the virus.”
The letter to parents of children who are not contacts of the child with a positive test also advises them to continue to keep an eye on their children as a precaution. It says parents should be alert to any symptoms of Covid-19:
■ A new or continuous cough
■ A high temperature
■ A loss of or change to sense of smell or taste
If a child or another member of the family develops any of these symptoms, even if they are mild, parents should book a test for them by phoning 119 or going online.