A Church Gresley vicar says all churches in a part of the county are to reintroduce mandatory face masks - and claims some primary schools are close to being forced to close.

Reverend Mike Firbank, vicar at St George's and St Mary's Church, said churches in South Derbyshire were moving to "Plan B" – the reintroduction of mandatory face coverings.

He also told a meeting of the South Derbyshire Partnership – a collection of local authorities and voluntary groups – that "quite a few" primary schools were "close to closing".

Reverend Firbank said this was caused by the amount of staff off due to Covid, leaving the schools almost short of enough adults to keep them open.

He told today's (Oct 20) meeting: "I don't want to name them, but there are some primary schools in South Derbyshire who last week got close to closing because they had so few adult staff available, because they were out.

"Tonight I am going to be advising all churches across South Derbyshire and any organisations I work with who will listen to me, that we are moving towards Plan B as fast as we possibly can.

"What was helpful was the NHS Confederation coming out today with what they have said nationally."

The NHS Confederation said some Covid restrictions must immediately be reintroduced if England is to avoid "stumbling into a winter crisis".

It said a back-up strategy, referred to as Plan B, which includes mandatory face coverings in crowded and enclosed spaces, should be implemented.

Vicky Smyth, public health lead at Derbyshire County Council, told the meeting: "On Plan B. I think we just need to keep our eyes posted on what the Government is going say, but they are absolutely doing some consultation around that at the minute.

"It is great if people can move forward on that approach, and make your own call on that. I really encourage people to wear face masks etc where they can and we are supporting schools to make those decisions."

Ms Smyth also said Covid-19 cases in South Derbyshire were particularly high in the school-age population and there were fewer cases in care settings (such as care homes).

She said the key advice continued to be: Get vaccinated, practice good hand hygiene and wear a face mask in crowded areas.

Ms Smyth said it was going to be "doubly hard" for vulnerable residents this winter, due to the impact of Covid in combination with usual winter pressures.

She said analysis had shown low Covid vaccine uptake in the Swadlincote town centre area and work was being carried out to understand why this was the case.

Ms Smyth said this could include available time slots, lack of transport and confidence in the vaccination process.

A pop-up Covid vaccination centre in the town centre and more pharmacy-led clinics in the district were being considered.