Wolverhampton school shut over coronavirus clarifies 'students of Italian origin' letter

The Khalsa Academy in Ettingshall closed on Thursday for a deep clean despite having no confirmed or suspected coronavirus cases.

In a letter to parents, the secondary school said the move was a precautionary measure influenced by the school having "some students of Italian origin" and that it would be back open on Monday.

However the school has now moved to clarify that the school was not closed due to students' heritage but because many had either visited northern Italy or had visited relatives from the region over the half-term break.

The secondary school, which has around 600 students, was among three Khalsa Academies Trust schools to close this week despite Health Secretary Matt Hancock urging schools not to close unless they have had a confirmed case of the virus.

Nick Kandola, chief executive officer of the trust, said: "As all organisations in the country are currently doing, we have been monitoring the reports and guidance about COVID-19, the coronavirus, carefully.

"It is important to stress that there are no cases of the virus, or even suspected cases of the virus, in any of our schools at this time.

"Because of the nature of our communities, we do have a number of students who either visited Northern Italy, or have had relatives or friends who visited them from Category 1 and 2 regions, over the half-term break.

"This is what was meant when we referred to the students of “Italian origins” in our letter to parents.

"Given that volume of connections to affected areas, we feel it is prudent to shut the schools so that a deep clean can be undertaken. This is as a precautionary measure to protect the health of our children and staff.

"All schools will reopen at the start of next week."

Meanwhile a British man on board the Diamond Princess cruise ship in Japan has become the first Briton to die from coronavirus.