PUPILS of a Gwynedd school who returned from a European skiing trip have been asked to stay at home should they develop any Coronavirus symptoms.

A group of Bangor-based Ysgol Friars students travelled to the Italy-Switzerland border over half-term break.

A spokesperson for the school said: “This was not in a Covid-19 quarantine areas. While we have no member of the school with the virus, we have taken the precautionary measure of advising anyone who develops even the mildest symptoms to stay at home and contact NHS direct.

“Ysgol Friars continues to follow advice from the Welsh Government and Public Health Wales which is to encourage anyone who has visited Wuhan province or the quarantine areas around Milan and Venice in Italy and anyone who has flu-like symptoms and who has visited one of the small number of other affected areas to self-quarantine.

“No guidance has been issued to schools that they should close and we think it is important to strike a balance between precautions and over-reaction. It does no service to create panic and distress among parents and pupils by going way beyond medical advice and we are pleased that the huge majority of parents appear to share this view.”

A Gwynedd Council spokesperson added:

“As a matter of course, the Council’s Education Department circulates any updated government guidance regarding Covid-19 to all Gwynedd schools."