More than 400 pupils in Salisbury are currently self-isolating due to confirmed coronavirus cases at their schools.

Six educational settings have recently had a member of staff or pupil test positive for Covid-19 - meaning those who came into contact with them or those who belong to their year bubble have had to be sent home.

As of today (November 20), a total of 442 children have been told to self-isolate in the city.

The schools where coronavirus cases have been reported and the number of students affected in each school has been revealed by Wiltshire Council.

These are:

  • Appleford Primary (50)
  • Bemerton St. John (31 in Year 6)
  • Bishops Wordsworth (89 across Years 7 and 9)
  • Sandroyd School (37 Year 5)
  • Wyndham St Marks (no students self-isolating)
  • Wyvern St Edmunds (235 pupils across Year 11)

During a media briefing earlier this week, director for public health for Wiltshire, Kate Blackburn, revealed that across the county, 44 unique educational settings have reported coronavirus cases, resulting in 2,895 children being asked to self-isolate.

Sleepovers during half-term are understood to have contributed to the spread of Covid-19 in schools.

Despite the number of students out of school due to coronavirus being high, Ms Blackburn said transmission within schools is "minimal".

Speaking at Tuesday's media briefing, she said: "What we're seeing in the vast majority of schools is that there will be one case, either a pupil or a member of staff normally picked up somewhere else, not within a school but obviously they are then associated with a school and lots of our schools are then bubbled in their year groups or classes and so that's when you then see some quite dramatic numbers in terms of other children having to self-isolate.

"It's not because they are positive cases, it's because they need to self-isolate so we can break the transmission of the virus which has been really successful in the county."