Coronavirus – Advice for parents/carers from the Department for Education

The Department for Education is advising parents/carers that they should not be unduly worried about the possibility of children catching the Coronavirus and there is no reason why your child should not attend school as normal.

However, following the increase in cases in various parts of the world, including Europe, and the recent half term holidays, the following advice has been provided for all travellers and recent returners.

Advice for those who have travelled recently

If you have returned from the following specific areas since 19th February, you should call NHS 111 and stay indoors and avoid contact with other people even if you do not have symptoms:

• Iran
• Specific lockdown areas in Northern Italy (see link to maps below)
• Special care zones in South Korea (see link to maps below)
• Hubei province (returned in the past 14 days – see link to maps below)

If you have returned from the following areas since 19 February and develop symptoms, however mild, you should stay indoors at home and avoid contact with other people immediately and call NHS 111:

• Northern Italy (defined by a line above, and not including, Pisa, Florence and Rimini – see link to maps below)
• Vietnam
• Cambodia
• Laos
• Myanmar

If you have a cough, or fever or shortness of breath and have visited any of the following areas in the last 14 days, stay indoors and call NHS 111 informing them of your recent travel:

• China, apart from Hubei province (see link to maps below)
• Thailand
• Japan
• Republic of Korea, apart from special care zones (see link to maps below)
• Hong Kong
• Taiwan
• Singapore
• Malaysia
• Macau

Maps showing affected regions of China, Republic of Korea and Italy

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/covid-19-specified-countries-and-areas

Where to find the latest information

Public Health England blog:
https://publichealthmatters.blog.gov.uk/2020/01/23/wuhan-novel-coronavirus-what-you-need-to-know/

We will continue to keep you updated on the government’s response to COVID-19 (Coronavirus). Public Health England advises that the risk to individuals in the UK remains low.

Full details can be found at:

https://www.gov.uk/guidance/wuhan-novel-coronavirus-information-for-the-public