A WOODLEY infant school has reopened after a staff member came down with coronavirus.
Willow Bank Infant School was closed from Monday, March 2, to allow staff to self-isolate and the premises to be deep cleaned.
Cllr Charles Margetts, executive member for health and wellbeing at Wokingham Borough Council, told BBC Radio Berkshire’s breakfast DJ this morning that everyone who had been tested had no symptoms of coronavirus.
“Willow Bank has reopened today, which is good news,” he said. “We’re looking forward to having the staff and kids there to resume a normal life.
“I can confirm that there were no other positive cases among the tests done at that school. Staff are returning to work as the self-isolation is ending.”
He said that a team from Public Health England were at the school this morning, to support the headteacher after this difficult period and answer questions from people as some were “worried, apprehensive and nervous – and that is entirely understandable”.
He added that the council was preparing for what happens next across the borough.
UK chief medical officers are treating the coronavirus as a ‘moderate’ risk to public health, although this could change in the days ahead.
“We’ve been working really hard on this in the past week or so,” he said. “The council has been working on a number of scenarios.
“We’ve been preparing on running the council with a lot of staff working from home and some staff off sick. This relates to the functions of the council and also what happens if we have cases of this turn up in our area, because we need to be prepared.
“What happens if we have a case in an old people’s home? How will we operate if some businesses are 20% down?
“There’s a lot of work being done to put information on the council’s website, which is still ongoing, making sure there are daily updates available to residents and that the right advice is being given out.
“We are following the guidance from Public Health England and make sure residents are informed of what’s going and what they should do.”
