Rats were discovered within the school, therefore administrators at Conwy Council first stated that the building would remain open with certain classrooms closed while a pest control specialist dealt with the issue.
After rats infested their school, teachers instructed students to stay at home and work online, and a Christmas concert was postponed.
Conwy Council leaders first stated that the structure at Ysgol Eirias would remain open, with certain classes closing while a pest control specialist dealt with the issue.
However, NorthWalesLive reports that teachers had instructed students to work online at home due to “new developments.”
The school wrote in a letter announcing the switch to online instruction: “This is owing to new discoveries learned this afternoon which imply that isolation may be potentially challenging.
“Despite very limited additional new activity, the school will take no risks until all the details are firmly established.”
The school’s Christmas concert, which had been expected to happen on Thursday evening, was also cancelled.
The letter said: “The school will be working with the local authority in order to assess risk and plan appropriate actions.”
The rodents had allegedly been spotted residing in “papier-mâché volcanos” and abandoned restrooms at the school, according to a concerned parent.
Many dangerous infections, such as the hantavirus, leptospirosis, rat bite fever, rat tapeworm, and salmonellosis are known to be spread by rats.
Leptospirosis in the form of Weil’s illness can be acquired from rat urine.
Following contact with contaminated rat urine, the germs can enter the human body through cuts and scrapes as well as through the mouth, eyes, and throat.
Although Weil’s illness is uncommon in the UK, it can cause kidney damage, liver failure, meningitis, respiratory failure, and even death if left untreated.
There are two species of rats in the UK, with Rattus Norvegicus, sometimes known as the brown rat or common rat, being the most prevalent.
The other species is Rattus Rattus, sometimes known as the black rat or ship rat, and it is considerably less common in Britain.
The Mirror revealed last month that inmates in a dilapidated prison live in constant fear of enormous rats that emerge from the toilets.
Inmates at HMP Wymott in Lancashire had to contend with an infestation of the foot-long rodents last month, according to a report in The Mirror.
Most at risk of being startled by rats, some of which are over 1ft long from snout to tail, were those using the restrooms on the A-Wing.
According to a report to the prison, rats “come up” through broken toilets, popping their heads out while people use the restroom.
There were rats in two of the restrooms on A wing, according to the Independent Monitoring Board (IMB) inspectors’ report.