COVID CASES IN SCHOOLS TRIPLE
CORONAVIRUS cases among staff and pupils in schools have more than tripled in three weeks, leaping to their highest level since before Christmas. Most of the 238 cases were in primary schools as the Delta variant grips. All 22 council areas have seen a rise in schools cases, apart from two.
Latest weekly data from Public Health Wales (PHW), published yesterday – two days later than usual – shows that in the six days to Wednesday a total of 238 Covid cases were reported in schools.
That is 87 more than the previous week and more than three times higher than the week before that.
Of the total 238 schools cases 131 were in primaries, 81 in secondaries and 23 in “other”, which includes independent schools and pupil referral units. The data does not break down how many cases were among pupils and how many among staff.
There are more than 468,000 pupils and more than 80,000 staff in Wales’ 1,573 schools.
Releasing the data, PHW stressed again that infections in schools do not mean transmission necessarily took place in them.
Community infections are rising with the more infectious variant and schools have been urging parents not to allow their pupils to attend sleepovers or gather at school gates.
The areas with the highest number of school cases in the six days to June 23 were Conwy with 36 (up 11 weekon-week), followed by Denbighshire (up 12 cases to 31) and Swansea, leaping from eight cases to 28.
For the first time in months schools in all 22 council areas across Wales reported coronavirus cases and all reported more than one.
Blaenau Gwent and Ceredigion have seen their first schools cases in weeks, but schools cases fell in two areas – Bridgend and Newport.
Covid cases in FE colleges have also risen from 21 to 35 in the same period.
Hundreds of pupils, including whole year groups, have been sent to self-isolate in recent weeks and a school has closed to Covid.
The figures come as First Minister Mark Drakeford has warned a third wave of the pandemic will peak in July.
On Friday, Mr Drakeford said latest scientific modelling suggested it was likely there would be 900 hospital admissions in Wales between June and the end of August, and up to 200 deaths.
He went on to say that hospital admissions do remain low at present, with 15 people in Wales having been admitted with the Delta variant.
And he added: “What we don’t yet know is what impact our high rates of vaccination will have and how much the relationship between infections and hospitalisations has been weakened.”
But with more than 102,000 cases – and rising – of the Delta variant reported in England, Mr Drakeford warned: “If we see similar growth, services will come under pressure once again in Wales.”