Mill Ford School has closed today as a precaution following a positive test by a staff member. The school has taken advice from Public Health England and Plymouth’s Director of Public Health and is undergoing a deep clean before it reopens on Tuesday.
The advice is that the school can reopen once the deep cleanse has taken place and that with standard hygiene measures in place, the risk to the others in the school community is not high. The school has a nurse who will be speaking to anyone who has had contact with the staff member and any parents who have specific concerns.
Dr Ruth Harrell, Plymouth’s Director of Public Health, said: “The current advice is that the most important thing individuals can do to protect themselves is washing their hands more often, for at least 20 seconds, with soap and water. Make sure you cough or sneeze into a tissue, put it in a bin and wash your hands.
“Anyone who shows certain symptoms is advised to self-isolate for 7 days, regardless of whether they have travelled to affected areas. People with symptoms should stay at home and avoid all but essential contact with others for 7 days from the point of displaying mild symptoms, to slow the spread of infection.”
The symptoms are:
- a high temperature (37.8 degrees and above)
- a new, continuous cough
You do not need to call NHS 111 to go into self-isolation. If your symptoms worsen during home isolation or are no better after 7 days contact NHS 111 online at 111.nhs.uk. If you have no internet access, you should call NHS 111. For a medical emergency dial 999.
For the latest information on COVID-19 refer to the NHS COVID-19 pages and the latest guidance for people with confirmed or possible COVID-19