By A primary school and pre-school in Peterborough has closed today due to fears that someone has contracted Coronavirus.
This comes after several other schools around the country have also either closed or sent pupils home because staff and pupils had recently visited affected areas.
Lime Academy Watergall and Bretton Community Pre-School have both announced this morning that they are closing their doors for at least the rest of the week. It has not been confirmed when the school will reopen.
Angela Wood, headteacher of Lime Academy Watergall, has issued a letter stating that the school has “taken advice from Public Health England, as we have had a family who have recently returned from northern Italy.”
“Although they are currently showing no symptoms we have been advised to closed with immediate effect.”
“This is NOT a confirmed case of coronavirus in the school, it is a precautionary measure. We apologise for any inconvenience this may cause you. Please collect your child with immediate effect.”
Bretton Community Pre-School has said: “Due to unforeseen circumstances we have been advised to close the setting due to a child who has recently returned from one of the areas on lockdown from the coronavirus.”
This is a precautionary measure to allow for a deep clean after a student and his family recently returned from northern Italy.
Other schools near to Peterborough have also closed or been affected due to Coronavirus fears. Ely College has sent some pupils home after they returned from a ski trip in Italy. Lutton St Nicholas Primary School and Gedney Church End Primary School have also closed due to “precautionary measures.” These closures were also caused by a potential connection to the Coronavirus by an individual who is now in isolation.
None of these closures have resulted in confirmed cases of Coronavirus, and the only announcements so far have come from schools. In the absence of confirmed cases, public bodies refusing to comment.
There are now more than 80,000 confirmed cases worldwide, including 13 in the UK. Health officials have made it clear that service from schools and public transport across the UK will be dramatically reduced if the infection becomes a global pandemic.
The Ireland v Italy Six Nations rugby match has now also been postponed due to the Coronavirus outbreak.
The Foreign Office has also updated its travel recommendations, stating that all but essential travel to affected areas should be avoided. This includes Asian countries and much of Italy. It especially includes the towns of Codogno, Castiglione d’Adda, Casalpusterlengo, Fombio, Maleo, Somaglia, Bertonico, Terranova dei Passerini, Castelgerundo and San Fiorano in Lombardy and one in Vo’ Euganeo in Veneto.
The World Health Organization said this week that although the coronavirus is not yet at the stage of a pandemic, it has the potential to become one, and that the world should be prepared.
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