CHILDREN and their parents in Herefordshire are being warned that schools may have to make "tough decisions" to control Covid.

Herefordshire's public health and education bosses said they could also tell schools to cancel traditional Christmas activities at short notice.

In a letter to parents, carers and guardians, the chiefs said some schools might already have made the decision to not go ahead with traditions such as nativities.

Assistant director for education development and skills Ceri Morgan and acting director for public health in Herefordshire Rebecca Howell-Jones also said any extra measures to keep Covid at bay should be followed.

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"All schools in Herefordshire want to keep their pupils in school and to do this it may mean that some of the traditional Christmas activities may need to be modified or will not be able to go ahead this year," they said.

"Schools will need to undertake risk assessments on any activity and may change the way events are run, for example a reduced number or not inviting parents to attend live performances.

"In addition, if cases rise in a school, in line with government guidance, we may at short notice advise that certain activities do not go ahead."

Telling parents, carers and guardians that they, or their children, must get a PCR test if they have symptoms, the bosses added that lateral flow tests should be taken twice a week.

"As parents, please continue to remain aware of any additional measures we may have in place and support our requests to maintain social distancing and wear face coverings when appropriate," they said.

They added: "Please support your school in these tough decisions that they are making to keep you and your family safe, and be aware that if cases are rising quickly decisions may be made at the last minute to postpone or cancel individual activities and events."

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Mr Morgan and Dr Howell-Jones also thanked parents and children for playing their part in reducing the spread of Covid and keeping schools open as Christmas and the final weeks of 2021 near.

Latest figures for Herefordshire showed that the coronavirus infection rate had fallen over the last seven days.

In the week to November 11, the latest figures available, there were 406 Covid cases per 100,000 people in Herefordshire.

That was after 786 cases were found in the seven-day period.

The rate had fallen slightly from 417.3 cases per 100,000 for the week to November 4, with 808 cases found during the period.

The Department for Education has set a threshold for when extra measures, such as face coverings, should be introduced in schools.

The threshold is defined as 10 per cent of children, pupils, students or staff who have mixed closely test positive for Covid-19 within a 10-day period.

Extra measures introduced at the same time could also include children needing to wear PE kits to school on the days they have PE, the suspension of clubs, fixtures and trips, and students being separated into year groups at lunch and break times.