Government Says Priority Is To Return Pupils To School Safely
The Government has said it's priority is for students to return to school safely and is encouraging parents and carers of children under 12 to arrange for their flu jab as soon as available.
A statement from the Government follows below:
The Government notes the GSD’s latest statement on the start of the academic year.
The Government is delighted that schools will be able to welcome pupils safely back next week. Unfortunately, the nature of COVID-19 means that it shares symptoms with many other milder, common winter illnesses, and the Government is taking active steps to alleviate parents’ and carers’ concerns regarding the requirements to isolate.
Immediate isolation at the onset of symptoms is currently the best strategy we have to prevent community spread, especially to vulnerable groups.
The advice with regards to school pupils remains the same. If a child is experiencing symptoms of COVID-19, however mild, call 111 immediately and seek medical advice. It will be for clinicians to decide whether any symptoms a child suffers from are new, or arise from a chronic condition. It is right and proper that they be brought in for review, and if appropriate based on the clinical picture, they may be swabbed. This has been the normal practice since March 2020. Only if the swab is positive, will the whole household and any close contacts need to self-isolate.
Clinicians may decide to also carry out a suite of tests rapidly – called a respiratory screen – that can help identify many of the other illnesses that share symptoms with COVID-19. This will alleviate the pressure on families to self-isolate and limit the amount of time that a pupil may have to stay home from school.
The Government’s priority is for pupils to return safely to full time education as soon as possible.
The Government encourages parents and carers of all children 12 years and under to arrange for them to have the flu sniff as soon as it is available. This is administered by a nasal drop and will be critical in removing at least one cause of common symptoms.
