Three suspected cases of Omicron at Bury St Edmunds schools

Testing is now underway to find out if the three cases at the schools, which are both on the Moreton Hall estate in Bury St Edmunds, can be confirmed as being the Omicron variant.

A spokesperson for Suffolk Public Health said: "The Health Protection Team is working closely with the school and the UK Health Security Agency. All close contacts have been identified and asked to self-isolate in line with the current guidance for suspected or confirmed cases of COVID-19.

"At present there has been one confirmed case of Omicron in Suffolk and 16 suspected cases, with work underway to identify and isolate all cases and their contacts.

“We encourage everyone to take precautions and step up infection control measures, including face coverings, ventilation, hand washing and lateral flow tests when meeting others outside of your household. It is also important to get fully vaccinated as soon as possible and have the booster jab as soon as it becomes available.”

Earlier this week parents of pupils at Abbots Green Primary School were informed about a suspected Omicron case in one of the pupils at the school.

Ang Morrison, headteacher at the school said: "We are grateful for the support, advice and help from Suffolk Public Health and are following all their guidance.

“We are providing remote learning for those children who have to self-isolate.”

Yesterday, Tuesday, December 7, Suffolk County Council said there has been one confirmed case of the Omicron variant in the county and 16 suspected cases between November 25 and December 5.

At the time a spokesperson said it was too early to say if there was community transmission of Omicron in Suffolk.

In November, before the first case of Omicron was detected in the UK, schools in Suffolk moved over to a new three tier plan for tackling Covid.

On November 30, high school pupils across England were "strongly advised" to start wearing face masks in communal areas.