A TEESSIDE primary school has closed to some pupils today after a member of staff tested positive for coronavirus – the latest development in an area on the brink of a local lockdown.

The staff member went home from Hemlington Hall Academy, in Middlesbrough, on Friday, with suspected Covid-19 symptoms, and positive test results were confirmed on Sunday.

The school will be closed to reception and nursery pupils from this morning to allow pupils and relevant staff to self-isolate for 14 days.

Any parent who attended transition meetings with reception children will also be required to self-isolate, in accordance with Public Health England regulations.

Affected areas of the school will reopen on September 21 while all other year groups will continue to operate normally.

Headteacher Karen Edmenson said: “Safety is our top priority, and we will continue to take all steps necessary to protect everyone connected with the school – pupils, parents and staff.

“Pupils have been kept in bubbles, so it is business as usual for all other year groups, and the school will also continue to provide high-quality home learning for those children who are self-isolating.”

The school’s closure comes after mayor Andy Preston warned last week that Middlesbrough was “on the fringe of a local lockdown” after several coronavirus outbreaks across the town.

It was announced yesterday that who visited Olivello restaurant in Middlesbrough on specific dates in August must also self-isolate as a precaution after three people tested positive for the virus.

Anyone who was at Italian restaurant on August 25, 26, 27, 28 or 29 must self-isolate for two weeks from the date they were at the restaurant, and get a Covid-19 test if they present symptoms.

A Hartlepool school has also seen one positive case of coronavirus but remains open.

St Aidan’s Primary school headteacher Lynn Chambers called the first week of “delightful” but revealed the school had one positive case.

Miss Chambers reassured parents and carers that the school adheres to the strictest PPE measures and no one came into contact with the infected child, which an investigation by Public Health England established.