Mum faces fine for keeping daughter off school over coronavirus fears
A mum is refusing to send her daughter to school for a fortnight as she fears she may have contracted coronavirus from a friend.
The 43-year-old has kept her daughter, 12, at home after discovering she had been interacting with a a pupil from Ysgol Friars in Bangor who went on a skiing trip to Italy.
She has been warned she faces a fine as her daughter's absence will be classed as unauthorised but is refusing to back down, North Wales Live reports.
The Government's Chief Medical Officer has said that people returning from Italian towns placed in a "lockdown" area should self-isolate.
But the Ysgol Friars students visited an area 100km (62 miles) outside of this zone.
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She said: "I agree that the pupils visited a non-locked down area of Italy but at the time they visited no areas in Italy were locked down at that point of which could potentially mean that any infected people from the infected areas of Italy could have been visiting the same area as the pupils and could have unwillingly and potentially transmitted the virus.
"I understand that they were a mere 100km away from the quarantined area, but Italy is over 7,000km away from China yet it still found its way there.
"We have decided to keep our daughter off school for the government recommended 14 days just as a precaution and to edge on the side of safety, as any concerned parent would.
"We have had a telephone conversation with the schools Welfare Officer and she has informed us that if we do keep our daughter off school then this will directly affect her attendance record and will result in us receiving a fine.
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"The school say they are operating within the government guidelines for North Wales, yet Saint David’s School in Llandudno wisely sent their children home to be on the safe side, which is extremely clever in this current situation .
"As very concerned parents we are faced with a decision whether to keep our children safe by keeping them back home for the 14 day self isolation period and receive a fine and a bad attendance record or put them at risk by sending them back to school.
"A tiny risk I admit, but when you're talking about your own children you cant even take a 0.01% risk.
"We, along with many other parents find it absolutely appalling that we are being forced to make such an unbelievable choice and cannot understand why Ysgol Friars didn't follow the same path as all the other schools around the UK and ask the pupils of whom visited Italy to stay back home."
Neil Foden, Ysgol Friars, has argued they have had no confirmed cases of the virus at the school and has reassured parents pupils only passed the affected area while on the coach.
Mr Foden said: "As far as the Italy trip is concerned the closest the pupils came to an affected area was 100 kilometres and that was when they were on the coach.
"We have advised pupils that if they have any of the symptoms they should go home and call Public Health Wales.
"I cannot comment on the fine aspect as the parents would have been dealing with the Education Welfare Officer but if the officer has threatened a fine I can only imagine that they have also taken in to consideration past absences.
"As far as I am aware the parents have sought medical advice and have been told by a medical professional that there is no need to keep their daughter off school."
Gwynedd Council has been approached for a comment.
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