Management Information Sheet
Coronavirus Advice for Schools
The novel coronavirus outbreak in Wuhan, China continues to be a rapidly evolving situation. On Thursday 30 January the World Health Organization declared this as a global health emergency and in response, the four UK Chief Medical Officers raised the risk to the public from low to moderate. It is being led at national level by Public Health England.
The NHS is extremely well-prepared and used to managing infections and are already working rapidly to identify any contacts the patients had, to prevent further spread. NHS and partners have been preparing for UK cases of novel coronavirus (2019-nCoV) and have robust infection control measures in place to respond immediately.
Based on the scientific advice of SAGE the UK Chief Medical Officers are advising anyone who has travelled to the UK from mainland China, Thailand, Japan, Republic of Korea, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Singapore, Malaysia or Macau in the last 14 days and is experiencing cough or fever or shortness of breath, to stay indoors and call NHS 111, even if symptoms are mild.
These areas have been identified because of the volume of air travel from affected areas, understanding of other travel routes and number of reported cases. Where there are children, students or staff returning from or visiting China, Public Health England and the Foreign Office have issued advice for anyone travelling to the area. This can be found at:
- UK government Foreign Travel advice to the area
- Novel coronavirus and avian flu advice for travel to China
Department for Education advice for parents/guardians
- You should not be unduly worried about the possibility of your children catching the Coronavirus.
- There is no reason why your children should not continue to attend their early years, school or further education setting as normal.
- We recognise that some families or children may be planning to travel to China during the forthcoming half term period. If so, please refer to the latest travel advice via the link above.
What action you can take
A UK wide campaign has been launched to provide clear advice on how to slow the spread of Coronavirus. Please help to support the campaign which promotes basic hygiene practices, such as regularly washing hands and always sneezing into a tissue, to stem the spread of viruses. Public Health England recommend that everyone should maintain good hand, respiratory and personal hygiene - there are NHS guidelines on good hand hygiene.
You can support the campaign by:
- Displaying the Coronavirus public information poster
- Sharing DHSC content from the following social media links:
What we are doing in Norfolk
Norfolk Resilience Forum partners have met to discuss the potential risks and impacts for Norfolk and remain we well prepared to respond to any potential incident.
Norfolk County Council will continue to review the situation and are following all advice given by Public Health England on this matter and the latest advice can be found online.
If you have any health concerns, please continue to check the Public Health England website for up-to-date advice and guidance, and for regular updates on travel information, symptoms, and precautionary measures. PHE has also published some frequently asked questions on the coronavirus.