Pupils isolating due to potential school Covid-contact almost doubles

The number of pupils absent from school because of potential contact with a Covid-19 case in school has almost doubled in a week, DfE attendance data suggests.

46,900 pupils were off last Thursday because of potential contact in-school, up from 25,200 on Thursday 22 April.

The number of pupils isolating because of a suspected case also increased from 6,800 to 11,600 over the same period, but the number of actual confirmed cases only rose from 2,400 to 2,700.

Regarding teacher absences, 0.5% of teachers and school leaders in open state-funded schools were absent due to COVID-19 reasons on 29 April, up from 0.3% on 22 April.

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