Wigan school pupil among omicron cases

The youngster, who attends Worsley Mesnes Primary School, is believed to be one of at least 55 people in the borough to have been confirmed as having the illness.

A school spokesman said “At Worsley Mesnes Community Primary School the health and safety of our pupils, staff and whole school community is paramount. We seek daily advice regarding Covid-19 and follow the latest Government guidance, supported by the council’s health protection team.”

A post on the school's Facebook page earlier this week said it had received guidance from the Department for Education that anyone under the age of 18 and adults who are fully vaccinated do not need to self-isolate if they have been a close contact of someone with coronavirus, but must take lateral flow tests daily instead for a week.

But this guidance has caused concerns elsewhere in Wigan, with parents at St Bernadette's Primary School in Shevington upset that pupils have reportedly been told they must still go to school, even if someone they live with tests positive.

One parent said on Facebook: "I feel like they are just going to spread it among the other kids and take it home. What is the actual point of these masks in supermarkets, boosters etc if we're allowing kids with caregivers with Covid to go into school?"

Wigan's public health chief Prof Kate Ardern yesterday warned it would not take long for omicron to become the dominant Covid-19 variant in the North, as she revealed that 55 cases had been confirmed in the borough.

She said NHS staff and volunteers would be working "flat out" over the next two weeks to deliver the booster vaccines to as many people as possible by the end of the year.

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