A SMALL NUMBER OF PUPILS FROM SALFORD CITY ACADEMY ARE SELF-ISOLATING THANKS TO CLEVER CLASSROOM LAYOUTS AND SEATING PLANS, MEANWHILE SALFORD'S 'R RATE' CREEPS HIGHER

A small number of children are at home self-isolating from Salford City Academy in Eccles after a positive case of Covid-19 was identified at the school within its year-11 group bubble.

Thanks to the clever way that the academy has set out classrooms and seating plans, only a small number from the year group have been exposed, which means that those who have not will be able to resume their education.

Affected pupils will have to remain at home for 14 days until they are given the all clear to return to school, inline with government regulations.

The academy joins Harrop Fold, Buile Hill Academy, Co-op Academy and Ellenbrook Primary in reporting cases of pupils forced to self-isolate, making them the fifth school within Salford to do so.

Across Greater Manchester the number of schools with reported cases has reached 55.

Schools are doing all they can to ensure the safety of their pupils and the fact that these incidents are being picked up and dealt with so swiftly shows that their measures are clearly working.

Despite immense pressures put upon both schools and teaching staff, Salford has a relatively small amount of pupils that are affected and currently out of school when all things are considered.

Meanwhile infections within the City have risen again and now stand worryingly at 82.3 from 70.7 per 100,000, the third highest level in Greater Manchester, behind Bolton and Tameside.

Salford's City Mayor Paul Dennett today called for the publics help to bring the infection rates down by maintaining social distancing and adhering to the rules set out.

Sadly another death was also recorded at Salford Royal Hospital today, with fourteen more deaths across England.

Although still considered to be low, an exponential rise in cases across the country could cause that to change rapidly, sparking fears of a second wave as we head into the colder months.

Our thoughts go out to the family of the deceased.