Sign up to our newsletter for the latest Northumberland news Subscribe Thank you for subscribing We have more newsletters Show me See our privacy notice Invalid Email

A Gateshead teacher has been tested for the coronavirus after returning from a school skiing trip in Italy.

Around 30 children and three members of staff from Thorp Academy travelled to Sestriere in Western Italy for a trip during the half-term holiday.

They flew between Newcastle and Milan, and did not travel through the 11 now closed-off Italian towns, in which more than 50,000 people are quarantined.

The party returned to school on Monday, but a teacher who attended the ski holiday has been off work after coming down with flu-like symptoms.

(Image: Newcastle Chronicle)

Northern Education Trust, which sponsors the Ryton secondary school, has confirmed none of the students on the trip have shown any symptoms and that they monitoring the situation.

The teacher has since been to hospital where they were been tested for COVID-19 on Wednesday. They are expected to receive the test results within 48 hours.

A spokeswoman for Northern Education Trust said: "Around 30 students and three members of staff from Northern Education Trust Thorp Academy travelled to Sestriere in Western Italy, for a ski trip over the half term holiday. They flew into and out of Milan, but did not travel through any of the quarantined areas in Northern Italy on their trip.

"Since returning from the trip, one member of staff is absent from work and has been tested for the coronavirus and is awaiting the results. None of the students on the trip have shown any symptoms, and the situation is being monitored daily.

"The academy has consulted Public Health England about what to do and fully understands the concerns that parents and carers may have.

"Public Health England has confirmed that the academy is following the correct procedures, in line with their guidance. Anyone with concerns should contact NHS 111 for further advice."

One mother, whose child took part in the skiing trip, has claimed that the situation has left a number of children "upset" and also claimed there had been a lack of communication from the school until Wednesday.

She said: "The school haven't been in touch with any of the parents until they sent us a text about it today [Wednesday]. I think it could have been handled much better.

(Image: Newcastle Chronicle)

"Some of the kids are really upset. I understand that we don't need to panic. Coronavirus is really just the flu but a bit more contagious.

"It's not too serious for most people, it's more the fact that any of the kids' parents could be working with or visiting people with lowered immune systems. They might have to go into hospital so they should have known as soon as the school did."

A university student and their relative recently received treatment at Newcastle's Royal Victoria Infirmary after testing positive for coronavirus and were treated in the hospital's High Consequence Infectious Disease treatment centre.

The two Chinese nationals have since been discharged from hospital.

Public Health England is not advising that schools shut in an attempt to stem the spread of the flu-like virus.

What is Coronavirus? Coronavirus is an infectious disease that was first reported in Wuhan, China, at the end of December. As it's a virus, it does not respond to anti-biotics and as yet there are no effective treatments or a vaccine for the disease it causes, covid-19. It's now spread across the globe and caused many thousands of deaths in the UK. People who think they have the covid-19 disease should ring NHS 111 if they have either a high temperature or a new, continuous cough. If you or others in your household contract those symptoms, you should follow NHS social isolation advice. To stop the spread of the virus, you should now only leave your home for very limited purposes. Government advice says: shopping for basic necessities, for example food and medicine, which must be as infrequent as possible

one form of exercise a day, for example a run, walk, or cycle – alone or with members of your household

any medical need, including to donate blood, avoid or escape risk of injury or harm, or to provide care or to help a vulnerable person

travelling for work purposes, but only where you cannot work from home Some people are at very high risk of developing severe symptoms from the virus. Check here to see who is the most at risk.

But at least 15 schools across the UK were closed on Wednesday for deep cleans, and pupils and staff at about 30 others have been forced to self-isolate for up to 14 days at home in case they caught the bug during trips to Italy.

This includes Trinity Catholic College in Middlesbrough which said a "small number" of the 36 pupils and eight staff who visited Verona started showing "mild flu-like symptoms" on Tuesday.

Meanwhile Duke's Secondary School in Ashington, Northumberland , has instructed five students and two members of staff who recently took part in an educational trip to Northern Italy to remain at home as a precaution.

Alan Hardie, chief executive officer at Northumberland Church of England Academy Trust, which sponsors the school, said: "The entire visit and all travel took place outside the area which is now in ‘lockdown’ and the staff and students are not classified as at high risk of contracting coronavirus.

"Although none of our staff and students on the Italy trip have shown any symptoms of coronavirus, as an extra precaution and after liaising with Public Health England, we have instructed them to remain at home for the time being."

Authorities in Italy reported on Wednesday that the number of people infected in the country grew to 374 and deaths of patients with the virus rose to 12.

As of February 25, a total of 6,795 people have been tested in the UK with 13 positive cases.

Parents of children at other schools in the North East have expressed concern after they returned from similar half-term trips to northern Italy.

Among those schools are the Kings Academy in Coulby Newham, Middlesbrough; Dyke House and Manor Schools in Hartlepool; and Carmel College in Darlington.

Schools not advised to close

Public Health England is not advising that schools shut in an attempt to prevent the virus from spreading.

The organisation's medical director, Paul Cosford, told Radio 4's Today programme: "Schools have to take difficult decisions given the complexity of issues that they are facing.

"What I would say is that our general advice is not to close schools."

Students are expected to attend school unless they have been instructed to self-isolate.

Who should self-isolate?

Mr Cosford said: "What we are clear about is if you have been in the area of northern Italy of concern and you have symptoms - it is a cough, shortness of breath or fever - then you do need to self-isolate, you need to phone NHS 111 and await advice for further assessment or testing.

"Of course if you've been to one of the specific towns that are identified by the Italian government and essentially closed down, then our advice and requirement is to self-isolate anyway."

He said Public Health England was available to talk to schools about their "specific circumstances" and "help them make the right decisions for them".

Health Secretary Matt Hancock said people who have been to anywhere in Italy north of Pisa should self-isolate if they develop flu-like symptoms on their return to the UK.

What if pupils or staff become unwell?

Call NHS 111 - or 999 if they are seriously ill or injured or their life is at risk - and explain which country they have returned from in the last 14 days.

The Government said: "People who become unwell should be advised not to go to their GP, pharmacy, urgent care centre or a hospital."

Move the person into a room where they can be isolated behind a closed door while waiting for medical advice or an ambulance to arrive.

What if a case is confirmed?

Public Health England will initiate an action plan by alerting the school and identifying people who had contact with the infected person.

Health officials will get in touch with contacts of the patient to give them advice on what to do next.

The Government said: "In most cases, closure of the childcare or education setting will be unnecessary but this will be a local decision based on various factors such as establishment size and pupil mixing."

Pupils or staff who have had contacted with an infected person will be asked to self-isolate at home for two weeks.