Swine flu shuts two more schools

Two Birmingham schools have been shut following an outbreak of swine flu.

One case of the virus was confirmed at St James Church of England Primary School and four at Heathfield Primary School, both in the Handsworth area.

The outbreak came after the closure of nearby Welford Primary School where up to 96 swine flu cases were confirmed by health officials.

Heathfield will reopen on Monday, the city council said, but no date has been set for pupils to return to St James.

Staff at the latter school are also off sick with illness unrelated to swine flu, the council spokesman added.

College outbreak

Welford school closed for several days over the recent half-term holiday while a deep clean was carried out.

Just under two thirds of pupils returned to the school on 1 June.

The decision to close a school is taken jointly between the head teacher, the director of children's services and the director of public health after advice from the Health Protection Agency (HPA), the council said.

Twenty three new cases of swine flu were confirmed in the West Midlands on Monday.

Staffordshire Primary Care Trust confirmed an "adult member of the school community" at Edensor Technology College in Longton now has the virus.

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