Coronavirus: Two borough schools to reopen as staff member is found to have flu

St Mark's CE Primary School in Newtown and St George's CE Primary School in Atherton were shut on Monday and Tuesday after the woman, who worked at both sites, became ill.

The Wings CE Trust announced on Sunday evening she had "flu like" symptoms and had been put in quarantine in hospital.

Both schools were closed so deep cleaning could take place, with posts on Facebook suggesting work the children could do at home instead.

On Tuesday morning, an update was posted on the Facebook pages of both schools to confirm they will reopen on Wednesday.

It said: "School will open tomorrow as normal after deep cleaning. We have been overwhelmed by the positive messages of support from our families and would like to take this opportunity to thank you for supporting us after making the difficult decision to close school in order to ensure pupils and staff were safe.

"The medical condition of the member of staff in question is improving and she has now been discharged from hospital. She has however, been asked by health professionals to self-isolate and we have received confirmation that she has tested positive for ‘Flu Type B’ virus and so won’t be in school for a period of time."

Last week Garrett Hall Primary School in Tyldesley was shut for two days for a deep clean and two parents of pupils at the school tested positive for COVID-19.

Pupils and staff from St Peter's Catholic High School in Orrell will have to self-isolate for 14 days when they return from a trip to Rome due to the severity of the outbreak in Italy.