Get all your news in one place.
100's of premium titles.
One app.
Start reading
Daily Record
Daily Record
National
Andrea Lambrou

Mum fears for severely asthmatic son claiming COVID 'is rife' at Lanarkshire primary

Concerns over a recent spike in COVID cases at a Lanarkshire primary school have resulted in some parents keeping their children off school.

An anxious mum contacted Lanarkshire Live to reveal her fears over her severely asthmatic son catching the deadly virus.

She claims she has been alerted through a school app that the St Louise Primary in East Kilbride was "rife" with coronavirus cases across nearly all years on an almost daily basis.

Lanarkshire Live also understands the school is short staffed, with several teachers off isolating.

Our source's seven-year-old son, who is in P3, is currently off with a "bad cough and sore throat" and, although twice testing negative on a lateral flow tests, is awaiting the result of a PCR test.

(East Kilbride News)

Worried for his health concerns, the single mum - who wishes to remain anonymous - says she is seriously considering keeping him off of school once he is better.

She told us : "My wee boy had to shield for a year because he has bad asthma and COVID is rife at his school right now.

"I'm getting updates daily saying there are cases, and in the past week they are going up and up - it's becoming a real concern that so many kids are unwell.

"Last week they cancelled the photographer who was supposed to take school photos, there was no Hallowe'en party, face-to-face parents evening or music lessons.

"When you arrive for pick up there is hardly anyone there as there are so many children off, it's like a ghost town. When I told them my son was off sick they said he'd be added to the isolation list, which just tells you how many there must be.

"A friend of mine is removing her child from school next week to keep them safe and I am thinking of doing the same with my child."

The mum claims the head teacher confirmed a lot of staff were also off due to COVID and that Track and Trace had been in contact with the school for the past week.

She added: "My son has been off since last Thursday as his cough flared up massively. He is on two strong steroid inhalers daily and has a rapid access card for Wishaw General.

"I just don't know whether to send him back once he gets his PCR result, it's really really worrying me.

"His class is the only year that hasn't had a confirmed case yet, which I find odd when every other year does. And my son isn't the only one with health problems and he says the kids are only washing their hands at lunchtime.

"I just want reassurance that the school is deep cleaning and doing everything it can to stop the spread. You put your child somewhere you think they'll be safe and they're getting ill."

Des Dickson, education manager for the council, told us: “We have seen a small rise in COVID-19 cases in primary schools over the last week.

"Public health professionals have indicated this is happening due to more mingling of children and families outside school and at recent events such as Hallowe'en and firework get togethers in communities.

“Our schools continue to have in place very good infection control measures, including hand sanitisation, the cleaning of touch points, and of course the wearing of masks and distancing still applies to staff in our schools.

“If there is a positive case in a school, then in line with public health guidance the school will share a public health letter with parents. This letter also advises that self-isolation only now occurs if a child or adult is deemed by NHSL to be a close or prolonged household contact.

In October the Scottish Government announced that existing COVID-19 safety mitigations in educational settings should remain.

**Don't miss the latest headlines from around Lanarkshire. Sign up to our newsletters here.

And did yo u know Lanarkshire Live had its own app? Download yours for free here.

Sign up to read this article
Read news from 100's of titles, curated specifically for you.
Already a member? Sign in here
Related Stories
Top stories on inkl right now
One subscription that gives you access to news from hundreds of sites
Already a member? Sign in here
Our Picks
Fourteen days free
Download the app
One app. One membership.
100+ trusted global sources.