Fife school closed as several staff test positive for COVID-19

A primary school in Kirkcaldy is to remain closed until next week after three three staff members tested positive for COVID-19.

Pupils were told to stay home today as the entire school was closed.

NHS Fife has now confirmed that a further two people have tested positive, taking to total to three - and all cases involve members of staff at the Kirkcaldy school.

All positive cases are experiencing mild symptoms and are isolating at home with other household members.

The school will remain closed until Monday, September 28.

An NHS Fife statement said: “There continues to be no evidence of transmission within the pupils of school at this stage, and based on the information available we believe the risk of transmission amongst pupils remains low.”

It said pupils in P1a, P2 and P4, who have previously been identified as potential contacts, must continue to isolate at home as a precaution. Other pupils do not need to isolate but must not attend school.

Dr Lorna Watson, a consultant in public health medicine with NHS Fife said: “Our Health Protection Team is working closely with colleagues at Fife Council’s education department to identify any close contacts of the positive cases in order to prevent onward spread of the virus.

“Contact tracing is a tried and tested method of reducing the spread of communicable viruses such as COVID-19 and has been used successfully over recent weeks and months to prevent other large scale clusters of the virus from developing.”

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Gordon Wardrope, Fife Council education manager, said all staff had been instructed to isolate pending further check-ups.

He added: “This operational impact of this means we are unable to reopen the school before Monday.

“We appreciate this will create some anxiety. However, parents and carers should be assured that the safety of our pupils and staff remains our number one priority and we are continuing to follow public health advice around any actions required.”

Anyone who develops any of the established symptoms of the virus, such as a fever; or a loss or change in taste or smell; or a new and continuous cough, should arrange testing using the UK Government Citizens’ Portal

https://www.nhs.uk/ask-for-a-coronavirus-test

There are a number of resources available for parents in Fife, with information on how best to reduce the chances of your family contracting the virus and what you should do if someone in the household develops symptoms.

https://coronavirus.nhsfife.org/parent-info

Fife Council has a comprehensive list of questions and answers available for parents and carers:

www.fife.gov.uk/schoolcovidfaqs

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