However, anyone who has recently returned from south-east Asia, the Far East or Toronto, Canada, and suffers from 'a sudden onset of fever together with respiratory symptoms such as a cough, sore throat or difficulty breathing', should stay away from work and phone their GP immediately to arrange a medical assessment, the Directorate said.
Ofsted issued the advice last Wednesday (30 April) after receiving calls from providers about the position of staff returning to work after being overseas in areas where SARS has been reported.
According to the Health Protection Agency (formerly the Public Health Laboratory Service), the affected areas are Hong Kong, Guangdong, Shanxi and Beijing in China, Singapore, Hanoi in Vietnam and the greater Toronto area in Canada. It said that 'a suspect or probable SARS case is defined by a patient's symptoms, plus a recent history of travel to affected areas, or close contact in the ten days before becoming unwell with a probable SARS case'.
The Agency said that, as of 1 May, the number of 'probable' cases of SARS in the whole of the UK and Northern Ireland was six in England.
It stressed that all patients had recovered and that 'other individuals are undergoing assessment', with one probable case 'declassified' last week following a diagnosis of influenza, while a previous report had been retrospectively classified as a probable case.
The Early Years Directorate said it was 'currently following the advice issued by the UK Government's medical advisors' and that it was monitoring on a regular basis the information on the disease provided by the Department of Health and the Health Protection Agency.
The move followed a letter in the medical journal The Lancet complaining that schools in the UK did not have a common policy regarding the disease.
The letter's author, Ian Wong, director of the Centre for Paediatric Pharmacy Research at the University of London and the Institute of Child Health, said, 'The situation looks confusing'. He urged the Department for Education and Skills and the Department of Health to 'work together in this matter urgently and develop a common policy for schools'.
Mr Wong said, 'This will assist schools in making rational decisions and more importantly, address the fears of parents and children.'
For up-to-date information see the Health Protection Agency website at www.phls.co.uk.
