Students identified as asymptomatic contacts of positive Covid cases will be kept in school, but are being told not to attend any extra-curricular activities.
The update comes following work between Public Health and the Education Office to make measures they say will help people to “live responsibly” with Covid-19, while moderating the risk of positive cases in educational settings.
Students will be kept in school despite having been identified as a contact of a positive case, providing they do not have symptoms. They are being asked to take lateral flow tests every morning for 10 days - after identification - before they go to school.
During these 10 days, students will be unable to attend any in-school or outside school activities, sports or clubs regardless of whether they are outside or not.
These include commitments which take place in the evenings or on weekends. In a letter to parents, Dr Nicola Brink said this strategy aims to manage cases in schools and minimise the disruption to education.
In a statement released by the Guernsey Football Association (GFA), CEO Gary Roberts expressed concern that students could get stuck in the 10-day protocols numerous times without ever being infected.
“While the GFA is fully supportive of the need and importance to ensure children are still able to consistently attend education settings, this announcement will effectively deny hundreds of healthy children the opportunity to do what they also enjoy and need – to participate in physical and social activity external to the education environment," said Mr Roberts.
Pictured: GFA has emphasised the benefits of physical activity, and noted that football clubs "will need to be vigilant and take practical and realistic decisions" until these protocols are removed.
“There is a risk that children could end up in repeat 10-day protocols and unable to participate in physical activity on a consistent basis despite being healthy and never testing positive – the question now is whether that is fair and proportionate and to the GFA it isn’t.”
If your child is identified as a contact of a positive test, you will receive a letter from Director of Public Health, asking you not to send your child to school if they have any symptoms linked to Covid-19, no matter how mild.
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