Additional Covid-19 case confirmed
Monday 21st September 2020 - third confirmed case of Covid-19 in The Minster School community
Sadly, a third case of Covid-19 has been confirmed in the school community today, following a test over the weekend. As with each case in school, we have consulted with Public Health England and discussed the situation through the Department for Education Covid-19 support service. We have followed their advice and guidance and have considered in detail this particular case, in this instance a member of staff.
Our critical consideration in each case is whether it is linked to any other confirmed case and whether the diagnosed individual has been in close contact with others. In this case we can be confident that the individual concerned was not a close contact of any students and it is therefore not necessary to send any students home.
Additionally there is no identified link between this case and the others in school, as identified through our contact tracing processes. In other words there is no identified close proximity between the individuals who have been diagnosed.
Our first concern is for the rapid recovery of the individual affected and we send our very best wishes to them.
A reminder that on any occasion where students need to be sent home every family to whom this applies will be contacted. The assumption should be that if not contacted, your child can and should attend school, following the guidance and rules already in place to help prevent the spread of COVID-19.
In this case no students are being sent home from school.
Confusion around students staying home for 14 days - clarification
There is some understandable confusion about whether to get a test when a student is sent home to self-isolate. Full information is available in the government guidance accessed through the link below. The key quote from that guidance is as follows :
It is crucial that you complete your 14-day self-isolation period if you’ve been identified as a contact, even if you get a negative test result. This is because you may have the virus, but it cannot yet be detected by a test, so you could unknowingly spread the virus if you leave the house. Other members of your household, however, do not need to remain in self-isolation.
Government test and trace guidance
This means :
- Don't get a test
- Your child cannot return to school until the 14 days is up
It is appreciated how frustrating this is but please understand - we must follow the guidance as a school and cannot make any exceptions. We would appreciate your patience and consideration as we cannot change this situation.