Guildhall School of Music and Drama closes over coronavirus case

5 March 2020, 16:57 | Updated: 17 March 2020, 12:03

Guildhall School of Music and Drama, London, shut down due to teacher testing positive for COVID19. Picture: Getty

By Rosie Pentreath

The prestigious music college in the City of London has been shut down “as a precautionary measure” after a teacher tested positive for COVID19.

Guildhall School of Music and Drama has been shut down “as a precautionary measure” after a teacher tested positive for the novel coronavirus.

An email sent from the principal of Guildhall to staff and students announced the school would be shut for up to 14 days, after the teacher was discovered to have the virus.

According to The Guardian, the email confirmed that “a member of teaching staff has tested positive for coronavirus” and although “he came into contact with a limited number of students” they are “working closely with those students to ensure that they receive urgent appropriate advice”.

The email says the teacher is currently recovering at the Royal Free Hospital. It has been recommended that all meetings, performances, workshops, masterclasses and other on-site engagements should be cancelled.

On Thursday 5 March, a spokesperson for the City of London Corporation confirmed that Guildhall will reopen on Monday 9 March, “following advice from Public Health England”.

London tube users wear masks as total number of coronavirus cases grow in the UK. Picture: Getty

“The School has been given Public Health England advice”, Guildhall writes on its website. “The staff and principal are working closely with students to ensure that they receive urgent appropriate advice.”

A City of London Corporation spokesperson said: “Guildhall School can confirm that a member of its teaching staff has tested positive for COVID19.

“The school has been given PHE advice.

“The staff and Principal are working closely with students to ensure that they receive urgent appropriate advice.”

The known cases of novel coronavirus in the UK has now risen to 39. According to the Department of Health, a total of 13,525 people in the UK have been tested for COVID19, of which 13,485 have been found to be negative.

Globally, around 86,000 people are thought to have been infected by COVID19, with cases now in more than 50 countries. There have been over 3,000 deaths globally, the majority of them in China’s Hubei province.