Health chief praises Northamptonshire's teachers and children in light of 'far fewer outbreaks than expected' at county's schools

Northamptonshire teachers and children have "risen to the challenge" of stopping the spread of coronavirus in schools according to a top health chief.

It is now been a month since schools welcomed back their students at full capacity.

But despite steady reports of schools handling outbreaks and sending student bubbles home, it has reportedly gone far smoother than feared.

Northamptonshire's director of public health Lucy Wightman told a press conference today, Friday October 2, that the rate of outbreaks in the county's schools has been "much better" than anticipated a month ago.

She said: "You will remember my nervousness about school terms starting again...indeed we have had outbreaks, but far fewer than I would have expected.

"I cannot express my gratitude enough to our schools and our headteachers because they have created safe environments.

"We will never eliminate risk, but because of the fastidious nature within which they've enacted all of the guidance [...] at the moment we're in a much more positive position than I had anticipated.

"all of our teachers and schools and young people have risen to the challenge and I can't thank them enough."

At then end of September, there were five active outbreaks across Northamptonshire's schools, and 91 per cent of children had attended in the previous week - only a three per cent drop compared to last Autumn when there was no virus.