Welsh school ENTIRELY closed after Covid spike
Half of the staff have tested positive...
An entire school in mid-Wales has been forced to close after a spike in coronavirus cases.
Powys County Council confirmed the decision had been taken, after 40% of pupils tested positive for Covid-19, and 50% of staff.
Cradoc Primary School will now not be open until at least the end of the week, although learning is being provided for children online.
Cllr Phyl Davies, Cabinet Member for Education at Powys County Council, said: "After much consideration, a decision was taken by Cradoc Primary School Governing Body today (Monday 20 September) to shut the school.
"Despite the school's best efforts to reduce the spread of infection by limiting contact groups, daytime cleaning, handwashing, ventilation and so on, a rapid growth of positive cases in the school has unfortunately led to a tipping point.
"Although we appreciate the disruption that this emergency closure may have on families, the safety of our pupils and staff must remain paramount and the council will continue to support the school over the coming days.
"It has been an extremely busy start to the new school year with numbers of positive Covid cases in some schools rising significantly higher than at any other time during the pandemic.
"We advised a cautious return to school back in August, and we are reiterating that message again in line with the new national framework for schools which came into force today (Monday 20 September).
"Schools are expected to adhere to this framework as it will assist with the day to day running of each school. Some schools will need more measures than others, depending on the number of positive cases in the school in line with their risk assessment.
"We strongly encourage all staff and all pupils from year 7 upwards to take lateral flow tests twice a week on a Sunday and Wednesday. You can collect these tests from libraries and pharmacies throughout Powys.
"It is also an expectation that there are good hygiene regimes such as regular handwashing for all staff and pupils both at home and at school. This will help prevent the spread of the virus.
"We are also advising that open evenings and parents' evenings take place remotely this term, an approach which was very successful last year.
"We thank you for your co-operation to date and hope that things can be back to normal in our schools as soon as possible."