Schools enforce face masks and class bubbles to halt Strep A

Pandemic-style measures are unlikely to stop transmission but could create more panic

SCHOOLS have begun adopting pandemic-style restrictions including year group bubbles and face masks in an attempt to reduce the spread of Strep A.

Parents at Costessey Primary School in Norwich were told there would be no mixing between year groups in breaks and lunchtimes after 17 cases of scarlet fever were confirmed within the school.

The school’s nativity play and other Christmas celebrations including a music concert have been cancelled.

“The rate of the rise [in illnesses] is a worry to us all and as always we are committed to ensuring the very best safety measures for our pupils,” the school said in an email to parents on Thursday evening.

The school said that the measures such as year group bubbles and cancelling after-school clubs would be put in place “with immediate effect”.

At Holmewood House Prep School, a private school in Tunbridge Wells, Kent, face masks have been made available for staff and children who want one and hand sanitiser has been made available in classrooms and dining hall.

The school said it will keep doors and windows open during carol services and assemblies to increase ventilation, despite the cold weather.

Parents have been asked to ensure children have jumpers, blazers or coats to keep warm. They were told that the measures were being adopted to “reduce the risk of transmission in the final days of term and on our return to school in January” following “a recent increase in illness across the school”.

At least 16 children have died of Strep A, according to official figures. Strep A, a common and highly infectious bacterial infection, causes Strep throat or tonsillitis, as well as scarlet fever, impetigo and, in rare cases, the life-threatening infection known as invasive group A streptococcal disease (IGAS).

Data from the Department for Education show that last week there were 1.58million primary and 1.23million secondary pupils off school with illness.

This equates to 5.6 and 5.9 per cent of England’s primary and secondary school students off sick, respectively, and is more than double the 2.3 and 2.9 per cent figures seen at the start of the academic year in September.

The Government has advised schools to adopt good hand and respiratory hygiene but it has not issued any guidance for schools to adopt year group bubbles, cancel events or wear masks.

A Whitehall health source said that adopting bubbles was a “really weird” decision “because we’ve never used bubbles before Covid”.

They added: “The evidence that bubbles worked was very limited.

“It’s again going back to interventions with no evidence. Kids grow up in a routine that gives them stability, and disrupting routine has a lot of negative consequences that we normally don’t appreciate or understand.

“There are certain things that we can do that are more important.

“The first thing is if your child has a respiratory illness or any symptoms then keep them at home until they’re better.

“If your child looks unwell then get them seen by the medical team.”

Another leading paediatrician said it was “highly, highly unlikely” that bubbles will stop transmission of Strep A.

“These measures won’t work. That’s not the answer to this. It just creates more panic,” they said.

Molly Kingsley, of the parents’ group Usforthem, which campaigned against school closures during the pandemic, said: “We must balance the health risks with the now unarguable damage that eroding school activities and cancellations does to children.”

It is understood the UK Health Security Agency is advising schools individually that have been impacted by Strep A.