PARENTS in Bradford are being urged to follow the latest advice and keep children off school if they are unwell and have a fever.

The back-to-school advice comes amid high levels of flu, Covid-19 and Strep A disease nationally.

The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) has also included simple steps that can minimise the spread of illness in education and childcare settings as well as the wider community.

Tom Bright, Bradford branch secretary of education union NEU, responded to the latest advice by saying: “We want every healthy child to be in school.

“Unfortunately, there are always those parents who are selfish and will choose to send their kids to school even though they are unwell because they don’t think they have another option – this could be due to work.

“It’s a health and safety issue – if you send a child to school when they are likely to be infectious, they could infect other pupils who might take it home and pass it on to someone vulnerable.”

Professor Susan Hopkins, chief medical adviser at the UKHSA, said that children should stay home from school if they are unwell and have a fever.

“It’s important to minimise the spread of infection in schools and other education and childcare settings as much as possible,” she said.

“If your child is unwell and has a fever, they should stay home from school or nursery until they feel better and the fever has resolved.

“Helping children to learn about the importance of good hand hygiene is also key, so practise regular handwashing at home with soap and warm water. Catching coughs and sneezes in tissues then binning them is another simple way to help stop illness from spreading.

“Adults should also try to stay home when unwell and if you do have to go out, wear a face covering. When unwell, don’t visit healthcare settings unless urgent, or visit vulnerable people.”

Bradford Council endorsed the advice from the UK Health Security Agency.

Iain MacBeath, strategic director of health and wellbeing at the authority said: “We want to protect the health of our communities and keep our friends and families well; whether in school, at work and at home. Vaccines train our immune system to respond to specific viruses, allowing you to respond to keep your body healthy.

“Everyone needs to remember that as well as COVID-19, Flu is a serious disease hitting many people across the district and can require hospital treatment and that some people will even die from the disease.

“Even if your symptoms are mild, getting your vaccination is a lot easier than having to deal with the fever, aches and other symptoms of Flu that could keep you from work or family life.

“It is not too late to get your Flu or COVID-19 jabs this winter - by having the vaccinations you are best placed to fight off any infections this winter.

“As a council, we offer all our schools the most recent general health advice and can provide tailored individual support as required by individual settings.”

Prof Hopkins also recommended that young children receive flu vaccinations.

Follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram to keep up with all the latest news.

Sign up to our newsletter to get updates sent straight to your inbox.

Have you got a story for us? Email newsdesk@telegraphandargus.co.uk, contact us here, WhatsApp us on 07720403052 or call us on 01274 705292.