FIVE classes at a Glasgow primary have been sent home to self-isolate as one mum - whose son has coronavirus - claims the school should now close.

The Glasgow Times told earlier this week how St Francis Primary had to call in supply teachers as so many staff were in quarantine.

Now the mum who contacted us says her family is in a 14-day isolation after she was told her son was a close contact of someone with the virus.

He has since tested positive, leaving the mum furious that her boy’s health has been compromised.

Glasgow City Council, however, said strongly that the Gorbals primary will remain open on the advice of public health experts.

And education bosses insisted the school is safe and being deep cleaned,

It is understood that a P2, a P4 two P6 and a P7 class were all sent home to self-isolate.

A source inside the school said 16 pupils have tested positive for covid-19 as have 17 teaching staff, including supply staff called in to cover.

The mum, who phoned the school to express her concerns, said: "I had to wake my son up wearing a mask and gloves and say, 'Honey, you have to stay in your room.'

"He was so scared. He knew he had a virus that was on the news killing people."

She added: “On Monday I was told it was ok to send my children into school but on the Tuesday I decided to keep them home as I didn’t trust the school.

“At 4.30pm that day I was called and told that my child was a close contact of someone with coronavirus and the whole family had to self-isolate.

“It was only the day before that they told me everything was fine.”

The schoolboy was tested last Wednesday for covid-19 after feeling under the weather but the test came back negative.

The whole family was tested on Wednesay this week and the pupil was positive for the virus.

The mum added: “Thankfully he doesn’t have any symptoms but I am worried about the rest of the family catching it.

“Of course I am having to go into his room to help him - you can’t quarantine a child on their own - but that puts the rest of us at risk.

“This is absolutely horrible and I can’t believe my family has been put in this situation.

“The school should be closed now - I don’t trust them to run a bath.” 

The school’s head teacher had sent out letters to try to reassure parents about the steps being taken to protect children.

This included a letter sent out on Saturday evening, which aimed to address “rumours on social media”.

It read: “I’m aware of some rumours circulating on social media that’s not helping our families’ concerns and I wanted to let you know that we will continue to keep you updated with information that we can to help alleviate these concerns.

“I can’t speak about individuals - staff or pupils - but please be reassured that we will continue to work with our public health colleagues to do everything that we can to keep us all safe and mitigate any risks that we can to help suppress the virus.”

A Glasgow City Council spokeswoman said: “The school has been sending out information about test and protect being involved in the school since last week.

“Letters have also been sent over the weekend and on Monday to try and reassure families as we know this is a very anxious situation.

“There’s robust health and safety measures in place, enhanced cleaning regimes and contact tracing in place since the first case was identified to help reduce any risk of spread.

“The virus remains a threat and we must do all that we can to keep everyone safe and we will continue to support our staff and parents.”