A secondary school in Amsterdam-West has closed its campus after 10 teachers and three students tested positive for coronavirus.

The 750 pupils at the Cartesius Lyceum will follow classes online while the school building is cleaned and disinfected. It is expected to reopen on November 3.

Head teacher Sandra Niemeijer told AT5 the decision was necessary to prevent the infection spreading further through the school. She added that it was unclear how the staff members, all of whom have mild symptoms, had become infected.

The local health authority (GGD) was unable to identify a source and the school’s ventilation had recently passed an inspection with flying colours, said Niemeijer.

‘We haven’t had any meetings, we’ve done everything online. And it’s not a group of people who have sat down and had lunch together at a table. Nor are they people who share a class.

‘The GGD said it was theoretically possible that they all caught it at the supermarket and took it with them into the school. But I didn’t think that could be justified yesterday when we had seven people infected.

‘I thought we needed to take the decision to work online for 10 days. The most important thing we can do is guarantee the safety of our students and colleagues.’