Update on Covid-19 information and procedures at The Bridge 

20th January 2022

 

The setting remains fully open and your child should continue to attend as normal if they remain well. All pupils and staff should continue to remain vigilant regarding Covid-19. All parents are advised to continue with routine home testing using lateral flow testing of those in the household over the age of 11 and above.

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What to do if your child develops symptoms of Covid-19 or tests positive for Covid-19

If your child presents symptoms of Covid-19

The main symptoms of Covid-19 are a new, continuous cough, a high temperature or a loss of – or change in – taste of smell. Other symptoms can also include severe headaches and fatigue.

If your child develops symptoms of coronavirus, you need to arrange for a PCR test via the www.gov.uk website or by calling 119. Your child needs to remain at home until the result of the test is known. If the test is positive, your child will need to follow the latest self-isolation guidelines.

 

If your child has a positive lateral flow test but no symptoms

If you are undertaking regular home testing or your child takes part in the LFT testing on site in school, if the test has a positive outcome, the new guidance as of 17/01/2022 is as follows:

 

A positive LFT test is now an indicator to isolate and there has been a lot of movement around isolation periods and routines. We recommend that you are cautious around the early return options unless the testing and symptoms become extremely clear. The most recent 5 day guidance is that tests may be taken early on day 5 and then early on day 6. If both tests are negative, the isolation period can end. However, we are still seeing staff and pupils testing positive up to 8-10 days so testing and receiving two negative test results on consecutive days prior to return to school is recommended.

 

Close Contacts

We are often asked about the identification of close contacts in positive cases, here is the latest guidance issued to schools in January 2022:

Close contacts in schools are now identified by NHS Track and Trace and education settings will no longer be expected to undertake contact tracing.

As with positive cases in any other setting, NHS Track and Trace will work with the positive case and/or parent to identify close contacts. Contacts from a school setting will only be traced by NHS Track and Trace where the positive case or their parent specifically identifies the individual as being a close contact.

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This is likely to be a small number of individuals who would be most at risk of contracting Covid-19 due to the nature of the close contact. You may be contacted in exceptional cases to help identify close contacts, as currently happens in managing other infectious diseases.

 

From 14th December 2021, adults who are fully vaccinated and all children and young people of the ages of 5 and 18 years, who are identified as a close contact are strongly advised to test daily using LFT for 7 days but are NOT required to isolate unless they have a positive test outcome or present symptoms.

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Daily testing and non-isolation of close contact applies to all contact who are:

• Fully vaccinated adults – people who have had two doses of an approved vaccine

• All children and young people aged 5 to 18 years and 6 months, regardless of their vaccination status

• People who are no able to get vaccinated for medical reasons

• People taking part in, or have taken part in, an approved Covid-19 vaccine clinical trial

 

If you are an unvaccinated close contact and do not fall into any of the categories above, you must self-isolate for 10 days and test daily. If you test positive during the 10 day isolation period, your self-isolation period will restart from the day you tested positive and/or presented symptoms.

 

How to stop coronavirus spreading

There are things you can do and put into place to stop you and anyone you live with getting ill with coronavirus.

• Get vaccinated – everyone aged 12 and over are eligible – see Coronavirus (COVID-19) vaccination – NHS (www.nhs.uk) for more details and how to book.

• Wash your hands with soap and water or use hand sanitiser regularly throughout the day

• Cover your mouth and nose with a tissue or your sleeve (not your hands) when you cough or sneeze and put used tissues in the bin immediately and wash your hands afterwards

• Meet people outside and avoid crowded areas

• Open doors and windows to let in fresh air if meeting people inside

• Wear a face covering when it's hard to stay away from other people – particularly indoors or in crowded places

• Participate in twice weekly LFD testing following national guidelines (recommended for 11 years and over). We encourage you to log your results here: https://www.gov.uk/log-test-site-covid19-results

 

Thank you for your continued support

 

The Senior Team

The Bridge Education Centre