A headteacher has warned of common but not official coronavirus symptoms reported during a recent outbreak at the school.
The head of the Stockport primary school said pupils, parents and staff had experienced some lesser-known symptoms beyond the UK's official three.
Alexandra Park Primary School headteacher Phil Brooke warned families to be on the lookout for the symptoms after five youngsters in Year 1, as well as parents and staff, tested positive for Covid in the past week, reports the Manchester Evening News.
The NHS advice is to be aware of the three main symptoms of a high temperature, a new continuous cough and a loss or change to your sense of smell or taste.
Mr Brooke said Stockport's school heads and teachers shared their concerns when they met virtually this week.
He has warned that 'the last week has been extremely challenging' in the town, despite the situation improving nationally as the national vaccine rollout and ongoing lockdown drives down infection rates.
In a letter to parents, he said: "We all need to do everything we can to break this cycle of infection in our local community."
Listing the symptoms that those testing positive have experienced, he said any child displaying these should stay off school and get a PCR test done.
See a full list of official and suspected coronavirus symptoms compiled by experts HERE
He said: "For our staff who have tested positive and for many of the children, none of these symptoms [the three main ones] were present before they tested positive and some never displayed any of these symptoms, although many were still very ill.
"Therefore, I think it is important to share with you the most common symptoms reported to us as a school, which are:
- Feeling tired
- Headache
- Loss of appetite
- Sore throat (people have often thought they had tonsillitis)
- Aching limbs
- Stomach ache
"Significantly, when some people were asked about their symptoms when recording their result, they were then asked about the symptoms listed above. This would suggest that there are far more symptoms that we need to be aware of.
"I have spoken to PHE and they are still advising us to use the three original criteria. I fully respect their medical expertise and judgement. However, my responsibility is to the children and families of this school and we all need to be extra vigilant, particularly during this time.
"To help with this, I believe it is important that people have an awareness of these other symptoms. All the headteachers in Stockport met virtually yesterday and this was a shared concern. We all want to keep our schools safe and believe an understanding of these additional symptoms will help do this."
After being told about some families not following the rules of isolation, the head pleaded with parents to play their part.
"If your child is self-isolating, it is crucial that they stay in their own house," said Mr Brooke.
"Parents have contacted me to say that they have seen children who are meant to be isolating playing in the park and have heard about them going to each other’s houses.
"I understand and fully empathise that it is challenging for them to stay indoors, and potentially a huge inconvenience for you, especially after so much time has been spent in lockdown.
"However, everyone needs to strictly follow the guidance so that we can break the spread of Covid at our school and keep each other safe."
The parent of one child is having to isolate from the school told the MEN: "We are concerned about the number of cases within the school. The school as a whole have been so supportive throughout this pandemic, we cannot fault them. But the way some people act, it's no wonder there are cases in school."
