SCHOOLS and colleges are now being ‘strongly advised’ to implement a policy of face masks being mandatory for students in communal areas as well as classrooms.

This comes after Cumbria had seen a recent ‘rapid’ rise in Covid cases and urged people to continue to social distance.

Barrow in particular saw a week-on-week increase of more than 400 per cent, the fourth-largest spike in infection rate compared with all areas of England.

John Richardson, headteacher of Walney School, said: “In line with most secondary schools, at Walney school we have followed the strong advice from both Public Health and the local authority to re-introduce face coverings for students in corridors and communal areas.

“We hope that this will be a short-term measure and that we can return to the previous position as soon as possible.”

Cumbria’s director of public health recently opened up on how Covid was being transmitted in schools in the country.

This is one way the council is trying to address the issue believed to be arising in schools.

A Cumbria County Council spokesman said: “The County Council position is that face coverings are strongly advised in communal areas in secondary schools (pupils and staff) and primary schools (staff only).

“Schools have the discretion to recommend further usage, including use in classrooms.”

Furness College was one of the first establishments to announce the implementation of this policy this week.

A recent Covid update from the college said: “You will be aware of the current localised situation of rising Covid-19 infections among young people and we have sought guidance from Cumbria County Council whose recommendation is for students to resume wearing face coverings in communal areas and classrooms.

“After careful consideration and assessing the risk to everyone who attends college, it has been decided that from Monday June 21, face coverings will be mandatory in all communal areas and classrooms within the college. This applies to all students, staff and any visitors unless they are exempt.

“In order to keep the college environment as safe as it can possibly be, we must also ensure we are not becoming complacent with our control measures.

“Please continue to use the ‘hands, face, space’ guidance and try to ensure a safe distance of one metre+ is maintained.

“We also strongly encourage everyone to continue lateral flow testing twice a week and reporting the results on Nexus and via the NHS portal.”