Covid: Gwynedd schools bring back online learning - BBC News
The decision was taken to help to control clusters of Covid cases.
Gwynedd's Covid-19 prevention and surveillance group says the decision was taken to control Covid clusters

Ten schools have brought back online learning and asked whole year groups to stay at home due to rising Covid cases.

The decision was taken to help to control clusters of cases, Gwynedd's Covid-19 prevention and surveillance group said.

Gwynedd's weekly Covid case rate stands at 851 per 100,000 people - well above Wales' average rate of 471.8.

The council confirmed transmission has impacted education across some schools.

Neil Foden, the headteacher of Ysgol Friars in Bangor, said he was reviewing whether to implement online learning and send classes home on at his school.

"At the moment we're not close to contemplating sending whole year groups home and moving to remote learning, but it has been quite difficult to function normally over the past few weeks," he said.

"We are reviewing it on a daily basis."

Speaking on BBC Radio Wales Breakfast with Claire Summers, he said his school has seen three times the number of cases in this academic year, than in the whole of their previous academic year.

Neil Foden says he reviews whether to implement online learning on a "daily basis" at his school

Spikes in Covid cases have been recorded in the Caernarfon, Bala, Ffestiniog, Dolgellau and Pen Llŷn areas.

Dafydd Williams, chair of the Gwynedd Covid-19 prevention and surveillance group said although case numbers are stable they remain a "cause for concern".

"We have seen cases of Covid-19 in schools across the county. When cases are identified within a school there are robust arrangements in place to control the chain of transmission," he said.

"Extra protection measures are applied when 10% of pupils in classes or school years have tested positive for Covid-19, with virtual learning adopted when 25% are tested positive.

"Of the 94 secondary and primary schools in Gwynedd, 10 of those currently have some classes or school years receiving their education virtually.

He said the targeted approach was helping the authority to "control any clusters of cases" and to keep pupils and Gwynedd's population safe from Covid.