Hertfordshire's schools were tackling 246 Covid outbreaks before the Christmas break, health chiefs have revealed.

The last full week of the autumn term also saw nearly 3,000 children diagnosed with the virus as the Omicron variant continues to spread.

But despite the soaring cases and fears of their impact on the NHS county council officials say they "expect" schools in the county to reopen in January.

It comes amid some national speculation about how the latest wave may impact schools.

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“We expect the school term to start as planned following the Christmas break, with secondary schools testing on site during the first week back as requested by the Department of Education,” said a spokesperson for Hertfordshire County Council.

“If government guidance changes, we are ready to support our schools to implement any new guidance.”

With rising cases expected to cause increased staff absences there have already been government appeals for retired or former teachers to return to the classroom.

Commenting on that plea, the spokesperson added: “We will follow any further guidance issued from the DfE and take any appropriate actions to support our schools.”

Watford Observer:

An ‘outbreak’ is recorded when five children, pupils, students or staff (or 10 per cent of that group) – who are likely to have mixed closely – test positive for Covid within a 10-day period.

Meanwhile data shows that in the seven days to December 14 there were 2,793 children and young people who tested positive.