Hungerford Primary School to be deep cleaned after suspected coronavirus case

School to close for two days minimum

Hungerford Primary School has closed today following a suspected case of coronavirus.

The school has said it will close tomorrow (Monday, March 16) and Tuesday for a thorough deep-clean.

The school added that it is planning to re-open on Wednesday, March 18 unless advised otherwise.

West Berkshire Council said this morning (Monday) that the school took the decision to close "based on local circumstances" but will reopen tomorrow.

The news follows the total number of cases confirmed in the district as three as of 9am this morning (Sunday).

Elsewhere, Strawberry Hill Medical Centre in Newbury has said that temporary changes are currently in place as a result of COVID-19. Other GP surgeries are also operating under the new measures.

The medical centre said: "NHS England has issued instruction that all routine Doctor appointments are to be screened by a GP on the telephone to assess if they need to be seen. This is to prevent a patient with possible case of COVID-19 entering the surgery and it having to close for a few days for a deep clean.

"We want to keep our 22,000 patients safe, especially the more vulnerable, help prevent hospitals getting overwhelmed and have enough well staff able to come to work. Therefore patients who turn up to the surgery for a Doctor appointment will be asked to go home and wait for a call from a GP. This is to slow the spread of the virus.

"Please DO NOT turn up at the surgery without having spoken to a GP first. Telephone the surgery or send a message via the website and a GP will call you back. They will then book you a same day appointment if you need one. There will not be any face to face appointments available to book either at the desk or online, only telephone appointments. Doctors will be able to prescribe medicines over the phone if necessary and now have the ability to offer video consultations if needed. Follow the advice at NHS111 online.

"If you have a routine appointment with a nurse, midwife or social prescriber already booked, please only attend if you have no symptoms of a cough or a temperature and have not been advised to self-isolate. You will be asked at reception if you do have symptoms and if you do, or appear to, you will be sent home.

"Contact the surgery via telephone or our website. You can request repeat prescriptions either via the web site or using the patient access app. It will be best if you request the meds to be sent to a nominated pharmacy rather than coming to the surgery to collect a prescription and then also going to a pharmacy to collect the medicines".

The district's first case was confirmed on Friday. West Berkshire Council has said that the person is self-isolating, but has not released any further information.

Symptoms of coronavirus (COVID-19) are: a cough, high temperature (37.8 degrees of higher) and shortness of breath.

Current advice is to stay at home for seven days if you have either a high temperature or a new continuous cough.
Do not go to a GP surgery, pharmacy or hospital. You do not need to contact 111 to tell them you're staying at home.

People self-isolating should stay at home, not go to work, school or public places, not use public transport or taxis, ask friends, family members or delivery services to do errands for you, try to avoid visitors to your home - it's OK for friends, family or delivery drivers to drop off food

Advice for calling the NHS 111 online coronavirus service is if you feel you cannot cope with your symptoms at home, your condition gets worse, your symptoms do not get better after seven days.

Only call 111 if you cannot get help online.

Health and local authorities are appealing for people to follow national Government guidance to prevent further spread of the illness and limit the numbers affected.

This guidance includes taking basic hygiene precautions as the best way of significantly reducing the chances of spreading any virus: sneeze or cough into a tissue, bin it, wash your hands frequently and don't touch your face unless you've just washed your hands.

Current evidence indicates that most cases appear to be mild, with patients experiencing flu-like symptoms. Older residents or those with weakened immune systems or long-term conditions may experience more severe symptoms.