Parents call for North Lanarkshire school to close after over 100 pupils and staff self-isolating
It comes as other schools in the council area have also been affected by outbreaks.
Last updated 5th Nov 2020
Parents with pupils at Taylor High School in Motherwell are calling on the school to be shut down, following a significant Covid-19 outbreak.
Over 100 pupils and staff members at the school are currently self-isolating.
The father of two pupils at the school, who wishes to remain anonymous, said:
"What's bothering me is the comments and the feedback that my kids have given me is the whole of S5 and S6 have been decimated by having to isolate.
"When you look at who they are, you struggle to see how its not transmissioning outwith the school.
"How is it equable for pupils to be sitting exams when they're having to isolate for all these periods.
"One of my child's friends - they commented that through no fault of their own, they're on their third isolation period.
"The kids have commented about the teachers seem to be dropping like flies.
"There's at least two if not three departments down to single figure teaching levels.
"The school should be closed for a period of time - two weeks, maybe three weeks - to allow everybody to recover, to put in a break from the virus."
It comes as Our Lady's High School in Cumbernauld has also had a Covid-19 outbreak, where several pupils are also self-isolating.
Despite parent calls, both North Lanarkshire Council and NHS Lanarkshire insist their main priority lies with keeping the schools open.
Dr Martin Donaghy, NHS Lanarkshire consultant in public health medicine, said: “NHS Lanarkshire’s Test and Protect team has carried out contact tracing after individuals at Our Lady’s High School in Cumbernauld and Taylor High School in Motherwell tested positive for Covid-19.
"They are currently self-isolating at home. NHS Lanarkshire is working closely with North Lanarkshire Council with regards to these cases and has now contacted all close contacts.
"Public health advice has been given to these individuals and they are being told to self-isolate. The schools will remain open as normal."
A spokesperson for North Lanarkshire Council said: "We are doing all we can to keep our schools open and running as normally as possible.
"We are working closely with NHS Lanarkshire’s Test and Protect team to ensure our staff and pupils are kept safe.
"We communicate directly with pupils, parents and staff to inform them of any developments within their school and continue to ask people to keep safe and stick to the guidance to prevent the further spread of coronavirus."
Hear the latest news on Clyde 1 on FM, DAB, smart speaker or the Rayo app.