A school will be closed for two days for a deep clean after a pupil contracted coronavirus - as it emerges both Kent's new cases were caught in the county.

The head teacher of St John Fisher Catholic Comprehensive School in Chatham sent a message to some parents on Friday afternoon confirming a pupil in Year 8 had tested positive.

St John Fisher School in Chatham

Earlier today, it emerged it was one of two cases in Medway, bringing the county total to four.

In a statement on the school's website, which was updated this afternoon, Dympna Lennon wrote to say the school would be closed on Monday and Tuesday.

She said: "The school has acted in conjunction with Public Health England and acted on their guidance.

"If you have not been contacted by Public Health England as a close contact of the confirmed cases you do not need to take any action at this time.

"However, to ensure the well being of all our school community, I have taken the decision to close both sites of the school on Monday, March 9 and Tuesday, March 10 to allow for a full and professional deep clean of all areas and surfaces.

Coronavirus causes flu-like symptoms and can result in pneumonia.

"We will keep the affected people in our thoughts and prayers."

Medway Council confirmed there was a familial connection between the cases and they were connected to a pre-existing Kent case rather than having recently returned from an affected area.

The council declined to comment on the extent of either patients' contact with the school – which is local authority-managed – or their genders.

Asked if there was any further risk to the wider community, James Williams, director of public health for Medway Council, said: "In Medway, we are as on the front foot as anywhere else in the country so our community is at no further risk or any other risk as anywhere in the UK at this moment.

"We are hoping there isn't a surge in cases because of all the work that not just my team are doing but actually everyone else.

James Williams, director of public health at Medway Council.

"We have seen a drop in terms of influenza-like illness in terms of this time last year and that's really good because that shows that some of the messages – particularly in terms of hand hygiene, not touching your face, catching it if you have a cold or whatever else, using a disposable tissue, and washing your hands after that or using hand gel –those kind of messages are getting through."

When asked about school closures, Mr Williams advised: "The issue about whether a school will close, whether it's flooded or there's another problem with that is often down to the school management because that's normally a school issue.

"Nationally, central government are giving out that advice and that is being handed out by Public Health England but any type of school closure will be dependent on the rationale and what the particular issue might be with that school.

"We are still in that containment at this moment in time. If the situation changes and we have to move to mitigation, that then brings with it a whole range of other measures which may or may not be directed, whether it's schools or big events.

"But the advice at this moment in time is carry on as normal and if there any issues or incidents with any particular workplace then that will need to be managed on a case-by-case basis.

"It doesn't matter if the people, whoever they may well be were in a workplace, a hospital, a prison, an educational establishment, because what we do is a protocol of identifying who those close contacts would be and following those up.

"If people are worried about COVID-19, we have got an online website, a specific helpline that has been set up, as well as 111 where people can be triaged.

"They are the kind of things we want people to take away; carry on and live our lives but live our lives sensibly and protect yourselves by doing those basic measures."

KMTV report on coronavirus in Kent

Coronavirus: Everything You Need To Know

Coronavirus in Kent: How to keep your workplace safer

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