Second covid case at Exmouth school

Now a teacher has tested positive

Just over a week after a teenage boy tested positive for covid-19 at Exmouth Community College, a member of staff at the school has also become a confirmed case.

On Friday 10 July, the unnamed adult taught key workers and other priority pupils on Friday 10 July. The school says they also taught those children in school on Friday 3 July, but hasn't had contact with other children.

Public Health England has been contacted. The teach is asymptomatic and therefore is considered a lower risk since they were not coughing or sneezing.

Exmouth Community College principal Andrew Davis has written to parents about the issue saying: "The parents and carers of all the students they taught are currently being contacted to advise that they now need to go into isolation for 14 days and not return to college this week. As different student groups are taught separately from each other, and have different breaks and lunchtimes, only those students taught by this member of staff will be asked to self isolate.

"The member of staff has also given us a list of the staff with whom they had socially distanced conversations with during the day. According to PHE, unless these staff show symptoms, or the conversations were face to face, then these staff are able to return to work where required on Monday. However as a precaution, we will be advising them to remain at home for the week.

To further reassure you, given the range of measures put in place to help keep students safe, transmission within school is far less likely than when out and about within the community, for instance, when using shops, parks, skatepark or the beach."

Last month, hundreds of young people gathered at Orcombe Point on Exmouth beach in the hot weather. One teenager from Exeter was arrested for a public order offence. 

An Exmouth Community College schoolboy who had gone to hospital for an unrelated injury tested positive for covid-19 earlier this month. He was asymptomatic at the time.