Doncaster is hit by back to school covid surge

In his weekly update on the Covid situation in Doncaster, Dr Rupert Suckling, Director for Public Health, said: “Most schools have been back for around a month now, and we are starting to see that impact of increased mixing reflected in our Covid rates.

“Almost half of our recent cases have been in those aged 5- 19 years old, and we are seeing outbreaks in schools across the borough.

"Our public health teams have been working closely with all schools experiencing outbreaks to support them to manage and mitigate appropriately.

“I’d like to thank schools, parents and pupils for dealing with these incidents quickly, sensibly and safely. I know how difficult it is to cope with these disruptions in the classroom and at home.”

Covid vaccinations are set to start for thousands of Doncaster schoolchildren later in the month.

A team of nurses from Rotherham Doncaster and South Humber NHS Foundation Trust (RDaSH) are set to visit all secondary schools to vaccinate students aged 12 to 15 whose parents have consented to them being vaccinated.

Around 12,000 youngsters in Doncaster are eligible to be vaccinated.

Dr Suckling added: "If your child is aged between 12-15, you may well have received a letter home from your school offering one dose of the Covid vaccination.

“The aim of this is to protecting young people from catching COVID-19, reduce transmission in schools and keep pupils in the classroom.

“While community transmission does remain high in most areas of the borough it is very important we are all sticking to the basics – particularly around isolation.

“As our Contact Tracing team work hard to deal with cases, they are seeing a number of reports of people booking and taking PCR tests but not isolating whilst waiting for results.

“Whether you’re fully vaccinated or not, if you’ve got symptoms and have taken a PCR test, you should isolate until you receive your results to ensure you don’t spread the virus any further in the community.

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