Coronavirus: Public health boss has message for Rainford

Rainford High announced on Monday that it had closed for two weeks after in-school testing brought the number of live cases to just below 40.

The school has been working closely with St Helens Borough Council and Public Health England (PHE) as the situation grew increasingly concerning, with a number of students testing positive for Covid-19 since the start of term.

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On Thursday and Friday of last week, 1,100 staff and students were tested in an attempt to better understand the school community’s spread of the virus.

Subsequently, 30 new cases have emerged, with a “significant minority” of students presenting as asymptomatic, in addition to the 10 people who had already tested positive.

Public health chiefs believe Rainford High is suffering from transmission into the school from the community, across all year groups.

A decision has now been made to close the school for two weeks to allow students who need to isolate to do so, as a result of close contact.

A letter sent to parents from Rainford High, PHE and St Helens Borough Council on Monday says all children have been in possible close contact with an affected child and, in line with the national guidance, it is recommend they self-isolate at home until Friday, October 9.

Sue Forster, director of public Health at St Helens Borough Council

“We are asking you to do this to reduce the further spread of Covid-19 to others in the community by your child staying home for 14 days,” the letter says.

“This means your child is not to leave home (except for testing), and any exercise must be taken within your home.

“If your child is well at the end of the 14 days period of self-isolation, then they can return to usual activities.

“A negative test does not mean that your child can return to school earlier than 14 days and in this case does not apply due to the whole school closure.

“Other members of your household can continue normal activities provided your child does not develop symptoms within the 14-day self-isolation period.

“We appreciate the disruption and challenges this will cause but this action is in order to save lives and reduce the risk to the most vulnerable in our community.”

Sue Forster, director of public Health at St Helens Borough Council, said the community is “key” to helping get the spread under control.

She said they should not be mixing with anyone else from outside of their household, either inside or outside, to help stop the spread.

Ms Forster said: “We know that this might be a worrying time for parents and the wider community but we want to reassure everyone that we are taking this action as a way to address the ongoing community transmission, which is impacting Rainford High School.

“The community are key to helping us get these ongoing cases under control and while we know it’s difficult for us to ask so many young people to isolate for the next two weeks, we need their cooperation to help us stop the spread.

“This means that they should not be mixing with anyone else from outside of their household, either inside or outside.

“Only by isolating properly for 14 days can we break the chain of transmission. There are no shortcuts to tackling this and we all have a responsibility to follow the rules which are there to try and protect our most vulnerable people.

“As our case numbers rise we are starting to see a rise in hospital admissions as a result of Covid-19, this is a crucial moment in managing this virus and we all have to play our part to reduce the risks for those more susceptible to serious illness.

“We will be working with local community groups and others that work with young people in the area to make sure that everyone understands the guidance and we will be looking at ways to support the school community with any help or questions they may have.

“Once again the most important message is for everyone to follow the basics of regular hand washing, wearing a face mask, keeping at least 2m distance from anyone outside of your household and limiting the people you come into contact with, particularly socially, wherever possible.”

Ian Young, principal at Rainford High School

Rainford High School plans to re-open for a full return on Monday, October 12.

All learning will continue remotely from today (Tuesday).

Ian Young, principal at Rainford High School, said the decision to send students home has “not been taken lightly”.

He added that all of the decisions made from the beginning of the pandemic have been focused on the best interests of the school and wider community.

Mr Young said: “The school has followed all national guidance and our risk assessments and procedures have been regularly reviewed, and has been working together closely with the local authority health and safety team and Public Health England.

“The school team has worked incredibly hard to ensure a safe environment for our community and have taken a proactive and proportionate approach with Public Health England.

“We will be supporting our students in the next two weeks with remote learning and wider support for our more vulnerable students will also continue through a range of services.”

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