DFE.Ebola Advice

Wednesday 22 October 2014

Ebola Virus - Advice for Schools, Colleges, Childcare and Residential Settings

The government is closely monitoring the spread of the Ebola virus in West Africa, and is taking action at home and abroad.

The overall risk of Ebola to the UK remains low. However we understand that people may be concerned where there are children, students or staff returning from or visiting Ebola-affected countries.

Public Health England (PHE), in conjunction with the Department for Education, has produced advice for schools, colleges, childcare and residential settings to ensure people are properly informed about the Ebola virus. This can be found on GOV.UK.

Advice for parents/guardians

Parents/guardians should not be unduly worried about the possibility of their children catching the Ebola Virus. You may wish to use the following key points from the Public Health England advice to reassure them:

• The risk of Ebola arriving in the UK is low and to date there have been no cases of Ebola Virus Disease being contracted in the UK.
• Any person arriving in the UK having travelled from any Ebola affected countries will be screened. If they are free of symptoms they are not infectious so there should be no restrictions on their school attendance or normal activities.
• It is not possible to catch Ebola from a person who is not showing signs of being infected. It can only be caught by direct contact with the blood or body fluids of a person who is ill with the disease.
• There is no reason why your children should not continue to attend school or their early years setting as normal.

Further information on the Government's response to the Ebola virus can be found on GOV.UK.