Dear Parent/Guardian,
PHA have updated their guidance. The Chief Medical Officer is confident that now is the right time to introduce a more targeted approach to the identification of close contacts of COVID-19 cases in schools.
With the change to contact tracing of positive cases within a school setting PHA have developed 'Questions and Answers' to help address any concerns parents may have around these changes.
Please click on the follwing link to find out more information about the new changes and approaches to be taken by the Public Health Agency in relation to contact tracing in school.
https://www.publichealth.hscni.net/covid-19-coronavirus/information-schools-colleges-universities-and-parents/contact-tracing-0
If there is a positive case in your child’s class;
- I will let parents know by distributing the PHA ‘Warn and Inform’ Alert Letter.
- A representative of the PHA will contact you directly either by phone or text, if your child is identified as a close contact.
- Your child can attend school as normal if you are NOT contacted by the PHA and as long as your child is not displaying any of the Coronavirus symptoms.
The main symptoms of coronavirus (COVID-19) are:
- a high temperature – this means you feel hot to touch on your chest or back (you do not need to measure your temperature)
- a new, continuous cough – this means coughing a lot for more than an hour, or 3 or more coughing episodes in 24 hours (if you usually have a cough, it may be worse than usual)
- a loss or change to your sense of smell or taste – this means you've noticed you cannot smell or taste anything, or things smell or taste different to normal
Kind Regards,
Louise Quinn
