SCHOOLS in South Lakeland have taken precautions against Coronavirus as the disease continues to spread in the UK.

Sedbergh School, Windermere School and Dallam School, all of which board a number of international students, each issued statements related to the disease.

On Friday, Sedbergh School posted a letter from headmaster Andrew Fleck on its Facebook page, saying anyone who had visited a ‘high-risk’ area such as Iran, China or South Korea would be required to undergo a 14-day quarantine period away from those countries before visiting the school.

Mr Fleck added the quarantine also applied to pupils who had come into contact with visitors to high-risk areas, unless the person they had met successfully underwent a 14-day quarantine.

“We are deeply aware that this situation is distressing for pupils who face the prospect of not seeing family for an extended period and are working closely with them to ensure they are fully supported,” Mr Fleck said.

“We are also considering how best to support pupils who may not be able to return home for the Easter holiday.”

In an updated statement posted on Facebook on Tuesday, Mr Fleck said the school had implemented an “elevated cleaning programme around the school,” utilising handwashing, antiseptic gels and paper towels.

He added the school’s medical centre had testing facilities for the virus.

Elsewhere, a spokesman for Dallam School, Milnthorpe, said: “We would like to assure parents that we are handling the developments around Covid-19 in line with all guidance issued by Public Health England and The Boarding Schools’ Association.

“We are, for example, running education sessions with students about handwashing, providing hand sanitisers around our buildings, and we have taken additional steps in regards to the daily cleaning of the school.

“We are also heavily promoting the ‘Catch it, Bin it, Kill it NHS campaign. The school will continue to monitor the situation carefully and continue to follow all best practice.”

A spokesman for Windermere School said: “Windermere School is following advice from the Government and Public Health England and monitoring the situation closely.”