An important message to parents/guardians from Hounslow’s Director of Public Health, Kelly O’Neill: “We’re currently seeing a significant increase in the number of COVID-19 cases in our schools across the borough which is causing a great deal of disruption for teachers, parents/guardians and children. Approximately 50% of our cases in Hounslow involve children under 19, with the majority of those cases involving 10-19 year olds. My team is doing everything it can to help the school community stop this on-going transmission as quickly as possible. But there are some important, practical, steps everyone can take to enable children to keep learning in the classroom and to stop the spread: I would urge you to please keep testing twice a week using ‘rapid’ LFT tests if you don’t have COVID-19 symptoms. If you do have COVID-19 symptoms, please get a PCR test as soon as possible. Regular testing is the quickest way to identify if you have the virus so that you can self-isolate if required. I would also encourage you to continue wearing a face covering if you can, especially in crowded areas, including on public transport. Together, all of these things will help to reduce transmission in the wider community.
“The NHS vaccination service has asked secondary schools across the borough to obtain consent from parents/guardians to vaccinate 12-15 year old children. Remember – it’s not too late to get vaccinated yourself, so if you haven’t yet come forward for your first and/or second COVID-19 vaccine, please take a look at our website: www.hounslow.gov.uk/coronavirus where you can find lots of detailed information as well as your nearest vaccination site. If you have any questions, please get in touch with me and my team at: publichealth@hounslow.gov.uk We’re here to help.”