WITH many pupils across Pembrokeshire currently self-isolating due to cases of Covid-19, education leaders have reassured the wider school community that a great deal of work is taking place to minimise the risk of viral transmission.
“Our Education community is working hard to keep all learners in schools safe,” said Cllr Guy Woodham, Cabinet Member for Education and Lifelong Learning.
“We are following the Welsh Government guidance regarding hands, face and space wherever possible and schools are regularly reviewing their risk assessments in relation to Covid-19.
“Whenever a case that affects a school is identified, we are working quickly with Public Health Wales and our health partners to make sure that potential contacts are identified quickly and that learners are asked to self-isolate.”
Steven Richards-Downes, Director of Education, said it was vitally important that families follow the advice given by schools if a case of Covid-19 is confirmed.
“If you are contacted by your school and asked to isolate your child, please respect the decision that has been made,” he said.
“These measures will continue to keep our school environments as safe as possible.
“Transmission within schools has remained low in Pembrokeshire and nearly all cases that have affected our learners have occurred within the community.”
Mr Richard-Downes added that everyone has a responsibility to lessen the transmission risk.
“We want to ensure that pupils and staff are able to remain in schools until the Christmas break as safely as possible.
“Please, reduce your contact with other people in your community – think carefully about where you go and who you meet.
“The more people you meet, especially indoors, the more chance of catching or passing on coronavirus.
“We have asked family members to wear a face covering wherever possible at the start and end of the school day, and whenever they are on a school site.
“And please remember the hands, face and space message.”
Parents/guardians have been given the following advice by Hywel Dda University Health Board:
If a child/parent/household member develops symptoms of Covid-19, the entire household should immediately self-isolate, and book a test for the individual with the symptoms. It is unnecessary to test the entire household if they are not symptomatic.
The Covid-19 symptoms are:
● a new continuous cough
● a high temperature
● loss of or change to sense of smell or taste
Booking a COVID-19 test:
Hywel Dda University Health Board recommends testing only for those with a new continuous cough, a high temperature, or loss of or change in the sense of taste or smell.
If a child does not have symptoms of Covid-19 but has other cold-like symptoms, such as a runny nose, they do not need to be tested and they and you do not need to self-isolate. Your child can go to school if fit to do so.
If a Covid-19 test is required, this should be arranged via the UK Booking Portal, https://gov.wales/apply-coronavirus-test or by ringing 119. Testing is available within Carmarthenshire, Ceredigion and Pembrokeshire or via a home testing kit delivered to and collected from your home. The COVID-19 test is undertaken via a throat swab or combined throat and nose swab.
Advice on self-isolation
It is essential that people who have Covid-19 symptoms, or who share a household with someone who has symptoms, must self-isolate, even if your symptoms are mild. To protect others, you must not attend school, nursery, other childcare settings, work, or go to or to places like a GP surgery, pharmacy or hospital.
Anyone with symptoms must self-isolate for 10 days from when their symptoms started. They can return to school or work after 10 days if they are well enough to do so. A pupil must remain fever free for at least 48 hrs.
Anyone in the household who does not have symptoms must self-isolate for 14 days from when the first person in the home started having symptoms.
If a parent thinks their child has symptoms BUT chooses not to put them through a test all household members must remain in self-isolation for 14 days from the onset of symptoms.
If you receive a positive test result, you will be contacted by the Test, Trace, Protect Team who will advise you further.
Self-isolating pupils – how does this affect their households?
If a pupil has been asked by their school to self-isolate because of coming into contact with a confirmed case of Covid-19, his or her household does not need to self-isolate as well – as long as the pupil has no symptoms. Siblings can continue attending school providing they have no symptoms (unless they have also been asked to self-isolate by their school).
However, if the pupil who has been asked to self-isolate does have or develops symptoms of Covid-19, then the entire household must also self-isolate as per the details above (under the sub-heading Self-Isolation).
