Bedlington primary school forced to close with more than 20 staff self-isolating

Sign up to our newsletter for the latest Northumberland news

A Bedlington primary school has been forced to close due to a staffing crisis caused by the coronavirus pandemic with more than 20 staff members self-isolating.

Whitley Memorial Primary School will be shut until October 19 "at the earliest", after it said it cannot guarantee the safety and welfare of its children and staff.

The Bedlington school announced it was initially closing on Wednesday for two days for a deep clean, citing that its catchment area had one of the highest areas of confirmed cases in Northumberland.

The county has seen its coronavirus infection rate rise in recent weeks with 583 cases recorded in the seven days to October 5, a rate of 180.8 cases per 100,000 people - climbing from 559 cases the week before (173.4 per 100,000).

But now the school has revealed that pupils will have to wait before returning to the classroom due to more than 20 members of staff off work as a result of the virus.

And due to those members of staff needing to quarantine for 14 days, Whitley Memorial Primary School will be closed until at least Monday, October 19, with a review of the situation to take place next Thursday.