As the third UK Omicron Covid case was detected, secondary school students were instructed by the Department of Education to wear masks around communal areas.
The DfE sent an email update to schools and childcare providers which said: ‘Face coverings should be worn in communal areas in all settings by staff, visitors and pupils or students in Year 7 and above, unless they are exempt.
Unless they are allowed, pupils and students should wear their face covers on dedicated school or public transportation.
Boris Johnson, who announced new regulations for facial coverings in public transport and shops the previous day with this new advice.
The update comes after the UK Health and Security Agency (UKHSA) said an individual, who is longer in the country, tested positive for the Omicron variant after travelling to Westminster in London and the infection was ‘linked to travel to southern Africa’.
Omicron is believed to be transmissible more than Delta.
This organism was initially identified in South Africa, but it has since been discovered in Hong Kong and Belgium as well as in the Netherlands.
The Prime Minister used
UKHSA chief executive Jenny Harries stated: “Our advanced sequencing capabilities allow us to quickly find variants, and take swift action to reduce onward spreading.”
Yesterday’s Prime Minister used a television press conference to put restrictions in place for the first time since months, to slow down the spread of Omicron.
Emails to pupils advised them to use public transportation to get to school.
“It is highly likely that we will discover more cases over time, just as in other countries worldwide and as we improve case detection by focused contact traceing.
After another 37.681 Covid cases, 51 deaths have been recorded in the UK.
Today’s Department of Health official infection count is 5.8% lower than the 40,004 reported last Sunday. Meanwhile, death rates from Covid within 28 days of being tested positive fell 16.4% from last week.