St Andrews Primary School confirms 18 COVID cases as 167 pupils remain home

St Andrews Primary School has 18 confirmed PCR cases of COVID-19 and 2 further positive lateral flow tests as of lunchtime today Thursday, December 16, according to an update from Orkney Islands Council.

There were 42 children at St Andrews School today, out of a school roll of 209.

Class teachers continue to provide work online using the Seesaw tool and, in addition, pupils from the closed P4 class have been sent a pack of activities. It is still planned for a reopening of the school in full on Monday, December 20, unless circumstances change.

Daily incident meetings continue to monitor the situation. Those present include representatives from Public Health, the council’s Education Directorate, Schools, Environmental Health, Safety and Resilience, Sport and Leisure and Community Learning and Development.

Members continue to appeal for folk to be vigilant for symptoms and to continue with lateral flow tests and to log the results online whether negative or positive. This allows Public Health to begin contact tracing straight away.

All new testing procedures are outlined here https://www.ohb.scot.nhs.uk/news/community-testing-service-update-procedure-15-november-2021

Ceri Dare, environmental technical officer, is available for free advice and support around COVID-secure requirements and best practice. She can be contacted on 01856 873535 ext 2817.