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Northern Ireland pupils told to self-quarantine after Italy ski trip Coronavirus: a dozen UK schools send pupils home after Italy trips
(about 3 hours later)
About 50 pupils and staff from Ballymena school sent home as precaution against coronavirus Schoolchildren told to self-quarantine for 14 days as precaution
About 50 pupils and staff from a school in Northern Ireland have been sent home as a precaution against coronavirus after returning from an Italian ski holiday. At least a dozen schools across the UK have put students and staff into self-isolation after returning home from coronavirus-hit northern Italy, as plans were announced to test flu patients in an attempt to spot whether the highly contagious condition is spreading.
The group, from Cambridge House grammar school in Ballymena, Co Antrim, were in the Lombardy region in the north of Italy but did not visit nine towns affected by the infection and are showing no symptoms. Pupils from County Antrim in Northern Ireland, Pembrokeshire in Wales and Cheshire, Yorkshire, Berkshire, Teesside and Cornwall in England were sent home on Tuesday to quarantine themselves for 14 days despite not showing any signs of infection, following advice from the UK chief medical officers.
They travelled through Milan airport, the school’s principal, Elma Lutton, said. She added: “Taking cognisance of advice from the Public Health Agency and following advice from the education authority, the pupils and staff on that ski trip have been sent home for 14 days self-quarantine. Anyone who in the last two weeks has come back from Iran, specific lockdown areas in northern Italy, certain parts of South Korea and Hubei province in China is being asked to stay indoors, call NHS111 and avoid contact with other people, even if they do not have symptoms.
“This is precautionary – none of them were in those nine towns, none are showing any symptoms. They were in the Lombardy region but went through Milan airport.” Thousands of people cannot enter or leave 11 towns in the Lombardy and Veneto regions of Italy for the next two weeks without special permission. Many Britons, including school parties, visited the region on ski holidays over half-term.
There are strict quarantine restrictions in two northern hotspots close to Milan and Venice. Despite advice from Public Health England (PHE) and the Department for Education that schools should stay open, two schools closed completely to all pupils for deep-cleaning after half-term ski trips to Italy.
Cambridge House is one of the leading schools in Ballymena, with more than 900 pupils. Trinity Catholic college in Middlesbrough said it would reopen on 3 March, while Cransley school in Northwich, Cheshire, is shut until 2 March after the headteacher said a number of pupils were showing “flu-like symptoms”.
Two schools in Cheshire, England, have also been affected by concerns that students returning to the UK from a ski trip to Italy could be infected with coronavirus. Meanwhile, Public Health England (PHE) has announced flu patients are to be assessed for coronavirus in an effort to spot whether it is spreading.
Cransley school in Northwich took the decision to close the school after NHS clinical services advised any staff or pupils who went on the trip to Bormio to self-isolate. Standard flu test samples from patients in some hospitals in England will also be assessed for the virus.
A number of students there are believed to be experiencing symptoms of the virus after visiting the area in the Lombardy region, where hundreds of residents have contracted the deadly infection. So far diagnostic tests have only been conducted on patients who are believed to be infected, but health officials plan to roll out the assessment more widely.
The school has closed to all pupils to undergo a “deep-clean” and has advised those returning from the excursion to self-contain regardless of whether they are showing symptoms. It is not believed that coronavirus is circulating in England, but experts hope to spot any spread and put preventive measures in place.
The headteacher, Richard Pollock, used the school’s official Facebook page to share his decision to close, adding that he would visit Warrington General hospital on Wednesday. PHE has put the new system in place in eight NHS hospitals across the country. About 100 primary care sites, such as GP surgeries, will also participate in the scheme so milder cases can be detected.
He said: “Regardless of the current Public Health England advice (that the school should remain open to all other pupils) I have decided, in discussion with the SMT and the chair and vice-chair of governors, to completely minimise possible spread of infection and close the school for the remainder of the week. England’s chief medical officer, Prof Chris Whitty, said on Tuesday that there were a number of contingency plans if the virus spread.
“During this time, the school will be able to conduct a deep clean, and monitor the results of tests amongst those pupils who are currently showing flu-like symptoms. Speaking at the Department of Health and Social Care in central London, Whitty said schools could be shut, whole families quarantined and transport reduced if coronavirus became a global pandemic.
“I understand that there will be a variety of reactions to this decision amongst parents, and hope that all families will understand the developing situation and the changing and inconsistent advice given to the school. The staff, pupils and families of Cransley are our highest concern.” About 50 pupils and staff from a school in Co Antrim were sent home for 14 days’ self-quarantine after returning from an Italian ski holiday.
A second school in Cheshire, Brine Leas academy in Nantwich, has also been affected by travel to Italy. The school said on Twitter it would remain open but that the sixth form college would close due to “staff shortages”. The group, from Cambridge House grammar school in Ballymena, were in the Lombardy region but did not visit nine towns affected by the infection and are showing no symptoms. They travelled through Milan airport, the school’s principal, Elma Lutton, said.
Thousands of people cannot enter or leave several towns in the Lombardy and Veneto regions for the next two weeks without special permission. Brine Leas academy in Nantwich, Cheshire, has also been affected by travel to Italy. The school said on Twitter it would remain open but that the sixth-form college would close due to staff shortages.
Outside the zone, sporting events have been cancelled and many schools and businesses have suspended normal operations. Sandbach high school, also in Cheshire, said students and staff who had visited Aprica, in Lombardy, were to stay indoors and self-isolate, even though no one was showing any symptoms.
Other schools which sent home pupils and staff who had been to northern Italy included Salendine Nook high school in West Yorkshire, Newquay Tretherras school in Cornwall and Haverfordwest high school in Pembrokeshire.