Return to schools 'will likely' lead to outbreaks of coronavirus in Northamptonshire, warns public health director

A top health chief for Northamptonshire says she has "concerns" about the return to schools in September causing a spike in the county's coronavirus numbers.

Director of Public Health Northamptonshire, Lucy Wightman, says the county "will likely" see outbreaks of Covid-19 when the summer holidays end next week.

But Ms Wightman says she was confident in the plans put in place by schools and stressed the importance of children returning to education.

It comes after Northampton was categorised by the Government as an area of intervention for its rising Covid cases last week. The wider county continues to have a "significantly higher" infection rate than the rest of England.

Director Wightman was asked at the county council's weekly press conference today (August 28) if she was worried about the return to school's effect on Northamptonshire's figures.

"I do have concerns," said Ms Wightman. "I would have these concerns for any significant event that pulls together a number of people in an inside environment where social distancing and face mask-wearing and hand washing is not necessarily something they'll be practicing on a regular basis.

"Therefore, we've been working with schools to make sure those risk assessments have been undertaken.

"It is likely we will see cases and it is likely we will see outbreaks. But obviously, what we can do is ensure there are clear lines of communication in place with Public Health England to ensure we take action.

"It is a concern, but it's also a concern that children are not allowed to return to education so we've got to balance it."

Outbreaks are classed as two or more linked cases.

The Chronicle & Echo reported earlier this week that children in Northampton would have to wear masks in corridors and other areas of the school, but not classrooms. The report was then disputed by other media and some social media users. The Government repeated that advice to the Chron this morning and Ms Wightman reiterated that this was indeed correct and expressed her frustration at some of the mixed messaging.

Mrs Wightman added that 95 per cent of Northamptonshire's school have remained open during the pandemic in some capacity and many would be "practiced" in the measures needed.

Schools will operate on a "bubble" policy, meaning that if a child or someone in their household or immediate contact tests positive for the virus then that bubble will self-isolate for 14 days.

PHE is currently only publishing the location of outbreaks if the number of cases rises above five - but this information will likely be public knowledge in the case of schools as schools will use their own policy in informing parents about cases.

Mrs Wightman said: "I can't definitively say that we won't have schools shut if there's an outbreak but we will have to take it on a case by case basis."

Currently, because Northampton is an "area of intervention", it is mandatory for pupils in Northampton schools to wear face masks - but Mrs Wightman used the conference to advice all areas in Northamptonshire do the same.

It comes as the rate of infections amongst Northamptonshire residents aged under 19 has risen by 20 per cent in the last four weeks. Mrs Wightman said this was likely because of the school holidays.