A HEREFORDSHIRE primary school is partially closed this morning due to rising coronavirus cases.

Herefordshire Council said rising Covid cases meant reception class at St Francis Xavier's RC Primary School, in Hereford's Venns Lane, will be closed today and tomorrow (January 17 and 18).

The closure comes after it was revealed last week that hospitals in Herefordshire were treating more coronavirus patients than at any other time in the last 11 months, according to new figures.

On December 24, the number of patients with Covid at the trust had fallen to a four-month low of seven, but three weeks later on Tuesday (January 11) that number had hit 46.

On the same day the week before there were 25.

In the seven days to January 11, the infection rate stood at 959.1 cases per 100,000 in Herefordshire, with 1,857 positive tests recorded during the period.

It is not the only Herefordshire school to have been affected by coronavirus in recent weeks, with at least 430 school pupils absent from schools in Herefordshire on just one day before the Christmas break because of coronavirus.

The latest snapshot figures released by the Department for Education estimate that 438 pupils in state-funded Herefordshire schools were absent because of Covid-19 on December 16 – 2.5 per cent of all those in schools which responded to the survey.

Of them, 325 were off because of a confirmed or suspected case of the virus.

A further 29 pupils were absent due to attendance restrictions in their school, 11 pupils were required to remain at home or isolate in line with government guidance, and 73 were isolating for other reasons.

Including absences for non Covid-related reasons, 88.1 per cent of Herefordshire pupils were attending class that day, in the 66 (66 per cent) schools which responded.

This was down from 89.1 per cent on December 9.

Across England, 3.7 per cent of pupils were absent for coronavirus-related reasons on December 16 – the most since the start of the school year in September.

On December 16, 3 per cent of teachers and school leaders were off because of Covid-19 in England – also the most since term began.

In Herefordshire, 0.9 per cent of teachers were off – down from 1.3 per cent a week previously, and also the highest proportion yet.