A school Covid co-ordinator is urging school students and others to ensure they continue to use lateral flow tests regularly and keeping checking for symptoms.

And she has thanked a team of local volunteers who have stepped in to be test operatives at the school where she works, Alsager School, as part of the regulatory return to school mass testing programme currently being carried out.

Karen Guy who lives in Sandbach, is the Covid co-ordinator at Alsager School with 1,620 pupils on its roll. The school is currently using the gym and one of the dance studios to carry out the return to school mass testing.

Carried out under strict guidelines, results are available within the hour. The school has been busy testing since children went back this week.

Karen said: "All our volunteers have been trained and the tests are carried out here under strict conditions. It is possible to have Covid and to not be showing any obvious symptoms so it's important to keep getting tested."

Karen, who has a son at Sandbach School, ensures both herself and her own children carry out regular tests to ensure they stay safe and well.

"It's important we are continually testing and following the same guidelines," she said.

Leader of Cheshire East Council Councillor Sam Corcoran said on his twitter feed on Monday (August 30th) that the Covid infection rate is "very high and increasing" especially in the younger age groups.

Cheshire East Council has issued the following advice to residents:

• get fully vaccinated as soon as you can
• test twice a week using either the home test kits or by visiting a symptom-free testing centre
• wear a face covering in busy public places