BRENTWOOD: Swine flu strikes down Ursuline pupil

A STUDENT at one of the town's largest schools is thought to have contracted swine flu.

The Brentwood Ursuline Convent High School girl is still being tested for the virus and will only be allowed to return once she has been cleared of the disease, the school said.

The school, in Queens Road, has more than 950 pupils aged from 11 to 18 years old.

A statement from the school said: "A student at Brentwood Ursuline Convent High is believed to have contracted swine flu. At this stage this has not been confirmed by the Health Protection Authority. However we believe parents should be kept informed.

"The welfare and safety of our students is our priority and we take this responsibility very seriously. We are committed to providing a safe place for children to learn and develop.

"We will be complying with the Government and local authority guidelines to ensure that the highest level of cleaning and hygiene are promoted at school.

"The student will return to school when fully recovered and then only after receiving the necessary clearances from the relevant health authorities.

"Parents will be informed immediately should the situation change. School business will carry on as usual."

The revelation comes at the same time that NHS South West Essex announced it was shifting its priorities from containment of the disease to its treatment.

It means that tackling the disease will now be at the discretion of local GPs and hospitals and individual cases will no longer be recorded.

Meanwhile, the Government has admitted the disease can no longer be contained, predicting that more than 100,000 people could be diagnosed with swine flu every day by the end of August.

A Commons statement by health secretary Andy Burnham said no more schools will be closed, unless forced to by a lack of staff or if the pupils are especially vulnerable.

Rumours that a Brentwood Borough Council staff member working at the Town Hall had contracted the disease have been refuted by the authority.

It has been confirmed four Essex County Council staff, including one working at County Hall in Chelmsford, have also contracted swine flu. A nine-year-old girl from south London who died over the weekend is the latest victim of the pandemic.