ANOTHER school has been asked to close in the East Lancashire area after staff received an NHS Test and Trace notification.

However, for now the closure is only for 24 hours and no member of staff has actually tested positive for coronavirus.

Moor End Community Primary School in Oswaldtwistle made the announcement on Facebook yesterday (22 June).

(Facebook/ @MoorEndPrimary)

A spokesperson for the school said: “Unfortunately we have been informed this evening that we now have a number of staff isolating due to track and trace.

“This has left us with barely any staff in school tomorrow even with the few classes we have in.

“The chair of governors and myself have decided to keep school shut tomorrow to allow us to organise things. We will inform you tomorrow of our plans going forward.”

They added that the school will only be closed for 24 hours while staff “assess the situation” adding that remote learning will be available.

“[Currently, there are no] positive cases,” they explained. “But the number of staff being asked to isolate through track and trace that has become the problem.”

People on the NHS Test and Trace app need to isolate after thet have been in ‘close contact’ with someone who tested positive for coronavirus, meaning they were within within 1 to 2 metres of each other for more than 15 minutes or in close face to face contact (under 1 metre) for any length of time. 

Many parents and teachers have responded positively to the post.

One person wrote: “Thanks for keeping us informed. Hope everyone is safe and well.”

Another said: “The teachers at Moor End have been fantastic with how you have managed to handle the pandemic in school for so long.”

Moor End is just one of a growing list of school that are have closed due to coronavirus restrictions and outbreaks.

Rossendale High School was one of the more recent additions to the list, as it was forced to close at the end of May after a coronavirus outbreak.

The NHS Test and Trace app has also been behind some temporary East Lancashire business closures.

Earlier this month, staff at The Aspinall Arms in Mitton were told to self-isolate for 10 days after being alerted by the app.

As a result, the rest of the staff at the pub had to change their rota until staff members can return.

Thankfully, they reopened on 16 June.

A spokesperson for the school has been approached for a comment on the situation.