A MEMBER of staff at a Herefordshire secondary school has tested positive for coronavirus, but said it's the first case at the school since regular testing started last month.

Wigmore High School, near Leominster in north Herefordshire, said since the start of term in January the school has been testing staff and students who are attending school twice a week.

Executive headteacher Dr Rob Patterson said in a letter to parents that it was during a round of testing that the positive case was found, as the staff member was not showing any symptoms.

Lateral flow tests have been used by schools to try and identify asymptomatic cases, with a result returned within one hour as the swab does not have to be processed by a laboratory.

RELATED NEWS:

In the letter to parents on Wednesday (February 3), Dr Patterson said: "I’m sorry to have to report that yesterday we had our third Covid case in school, as a member of staff tested positive for coronavirus.

"As you are no doubt aware, the school is now conducting weekly Covid tests for staff and high school students who are attending school, using the lateral flow testing kits provided by the DfE (Department for Education) at the start of this term.

"This is the first and only positive case we have had since our on-site testing began in January.

"The individual involved was asymptomatic and so without this additional check we may not have been aware of it at all or until symptoms started to appear.

"We have traced their contacts yesterday and today and I’m pleased to report that we do not believe any students were close contacts. As such, the school will continue to run as normal, except for a couple of minor alterations."

He added: "We will be conducting a second round of staff and student testing tomorrow (Thursday) to help reassure ourselves and our community that no further onset spread has occurred

"We will conduct testing twice again next week as an additional safety measure."