A primary school in Northern Ireland has reported 170 pupils absent on a single day, with the headteacher comparing the situation to the height of the Covid pandemic. Brian Guthrie, principal of Ebrington Primary School in Londonderry, said some children required hospital treatment, with a small number admitted last week.
The school, which has around 500 pupils, saw roughly one in three children off sick. Guthrie told the BBC's North West Today programme that classroom assistants were also absent, making it a 'very challenging time'. He noted that attendance was worse than during the worst parts of the pandemic, impacting literacy and numeracy lessons.
Confirmed flu cases across Northern Ireland have more than tripled in the last two weeks, rising from 273 to 954. Dr Joanne McClean, Director of Public Health at the Public Health Authority (PHA), said numbers are expected to rise further. The surge is partly attributed to a mutated H3 flu strain that is more infectious and affecting children more significantly.
In addition to flu, many students have been suffering from stomach bugs, sore throats, and other illnesses. The PHA has urged eligible groups to get vaccinated, noting that the vaccine reduces the likelihood of a child needing hospital treatment by about 70%. However, uptake among children remains below 50%, and around 40 schools have not yet been visited by the vaccine programme.
