Borough primary school closes for deep clean over coronavirus fears

Garrett Hall Primary School in Tyldesley will be closed on Thursday and Friday, and all before and after school clubs cancelled, so the cleaning can be done.

A letter sent to parents said a family in the school community had been in "direct contact" with two people confirmed to have the illness.

The decision was made to keep the child off school on Wednesday "as a precautionary measure".

The letter continued: "We have therefore taken the decision to close the school on Thursday 5th March and Friday 6th March to allow for a specialist deep clean and we will reopen on Monday. Please note, that at this stage, health authorities have not insisted the closure or cleaning of the school, this is our independent decision as a duty of care to our pupils and staff and to ensure that the welfare and well-being of our community remains our utmost priority.

"We are very aware of the impact of news of this nature on a community and it is not our intention to cause undue alarm. School will remain closed on 5th and 6th March to enable cleaning to be completed and the local situation to be monitored."

The UK has seen its biggest day-on-day increase in coronavirus cases, with 87 people now confirmed to have the virus.

Three of the 32 new cases recorded in England were passed on in the UK, raising fears that community transmission may now be taking hold.

The jump comes as England's chief medical officer, Professor Chris Whitty, warned that a UK epidemic is looking "likely".

Meanwhile, the Prime Minister announced new sick pay changes as part of emergency coronavirus legislation so that anyone self-isolating is paid from day one rather than day four as current rules state.

Boris Johnson told MPs that people who self-isolate are "helping to protect all of us by slowing the spread of the virus".

He added: "If they stay at home and if we ask people to self-isolate, they may lose out financially.

"So, I can today announce that the Health Secretary will bring forward, as part of our emergency coronavirus legislation, measures to allow the payment of statutory sick pay from the very first day you are sick instead of four days under the current rules, and I think that's the right way forward.

"Nobody should be penalised for doing the right thing."

Meanwhile, Lancashire’s first cases of coronavirus have been confirmed in South Ribble.

Health authorities have said the two cases are linked, that the people had recently travelled to Italy and are now isolating themselves at home.

But they declined to give any further information on how the people are linked, their ages, location, or how severe the illness is.

Lancashire County Council (LCC) - which is co-ordinating the public health response - have also declined to give information on whether the people were mixing in public after returning from Italy, though it is known that “close contacts” of the people are being traced in a bid to stop the virus spreading further.

A spokesman for Lancashire County Council said: “We’re working with health colleagues to do everything we can to stop the virus spreading and ensure residents are protected. Their close contacts are being followed up by Public Health England.

“If you haven’t been contacted by Public Health England you don’t need to do anything.”

Lancashire County Council’s Director of Public Health and Wellbeing, Dr Sakthi Karunanithi said: “I’d like to reassure people that we are working with colleagues in the NHS and Public Health England to do everything we can to stop the virus spreading and ensure the people of Lancashire are protected.

“The two people with coronavirus are being well looked after and are isolating themselves at home. Their close contacts are being followed up by Public Health England. I would stress that if you have not been contacted by Public Health England you do not need to do anything beyond following the general advice given to the public.

“Good hygiene is the best prevention and there are some simple steps you can take to protect you and your family by washing your hands regularly and thoroughly, and if you cough, cover your mouth and nose with a tissue.

“If you have recently been to one of the affected countries and are feeling unwell, you should phone the NHS’s 111 helpline for further advice straight away – please don’t go to your doctor.

There’s lots of advice on how people can protect themselves online at www.nhs.uk/coronavirus.”