A CLASS at a city school has been getting regular testing after a suspected case of the Omicron variant of Covid.
Parents and carers of children in class 3 at Redhill CE Primary School have been sent a letter advising their child may have been in contact with an Omicron case.
The letter, sent out by the school's headteacher Spencer Morris, says: "Your child may have had contact with a possible Omicron case in school.
"The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) has advised it is important for anyone who might have been exposed to this variant to complete daily testing.
"If your child does not have symptoms they can attend school as normal. Please complete LFD tests with your child in the morning before school starts.
"If the LFD test result is positive, please keep your child at home and access a PCR test as soon as possible.
"Due to there being possible cases in your child’s year group we advise that you consider taking additional precautions to limit the spread of infection by reducing their contacts with others, avoiding close contact with those who may be clinically vulnerable.
"This is not currently a confirmed case of Omicron but is being treated as such whilst further testing and genomic sequencing is carried out."
The headteacher of the Midhurst Close-based school added staff were continuing to monitor the situation while working closely with Public Health England and the UKHSA.
We asked the school and Worcestershire County Council for comment, but did not receive a response.
Meanwhile the government says it wants schools to open as normal in January unless guidance changes.
Education minister Alex Burghart said the government was putting measures in place to "make sure that we have the best chance for the start of a normal school term".
We asked Worcestershire County Council if preparations are being put in place in county schools for January, and whether schools would be ready to be able to switch remote learning quickly.
The spokesman said: "We will be continuing to follow the government guidance for schools, as we have done throughout the coronavirus outbreak."
UPDATE: Worcestershire County Council has provided an update after our story was published.
READ MORE: Council update on school's suspected Omicron case
The council says to date it has not confirmed an Omicron case.
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