Hull City Council is urging parents and guardians to be aware of Coronavirus symptoms, and to only book a test for a child if they have one or more of these symptoms:
- a high temperature
- a new, continuous cough – this means coughing a lot for more than an hour, or three or more coughing episodes in 24 hours (if you usually have a cough, it may be worse than usual)
- a loss or change to your sense of smell or taste.
If a child or anyone else has any of these symptoms they should self-isolate immediately and book a test, and the whole household must isolate too.
Councillor Peter Clark, Portfolio Holder for learning and skills said: “To make sure we can continue to give children and young people the best education in the safest way possible, we encourage families to understand and follow the guidance.
“The prompt identification of the symptoms and isolation will mean that other pupils and teaching staff are not put at increased risk and will reduce the impact on the school community.”
If you are unsure about whether to get a test, please check the list of symptoms on the NHS website, which is reviewed regularly: www.nhs.uk/conditions/coronavirus-covid-19/symptoms/. A person does not need a test if they do not have one or more of the coronavirus symptoms.
If the test comes back negative, the household can go back school and work as long as everyone’s well.
If the test comes back positive, the person with coronavirus needs to continue to isolate until 10 days after their symptoms started. The rest of the household need to continue to isolate until 14 days are up. Contacts only need to get a test if they develop coronavirus symptoms, but even if they have a negative test, they need to finish the isolation period, as it can take quite a few days for the coronavirus to develop.
Helen Christmas, public health lead for children and families said: “We continue to work with primary and secondary schools and early years settings across the city on a daily basis, providing advice and support. Schools have very specific safety measures in place to reduce the chance of coronavirus being spread. However, staying at home if you or anyone in your household has coronavirus symptoms is one of the most important things you can do to help your school community.”
All Academy Trusts work together through the Hull Learning Partnership.
