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5 hours ago
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson
London: British Prime Minister Boris Johnson warned on Sunday that stricter measures may be taken in England to combat the rapid rise in the number of Corona infections, as a dispute arose over the feasibility of reopening schools.
The United Kingdom is one of the European countries most affected by the epidemic (74,570 deaths). In 24 hours, a record number of infections was registered since the beginning of the pandemic, which reached 57,725 people, according to the latest official data issued on Saturday, with the outbreak of the new mutated Corona virus throughout the country.
“We may have to tighten up measures in the coming weeks in various parts of the country,” Johnson told the BBC. He added that the closure of schools, a measure taken in late March during the first wave of the epidemic, “is one of those measures.”
Although Johnson declared that educating children is a “priority”, he stressed the need to understand the “impact of the mutated virus.”
Currently, three-quarters of the population are in quarantine, and the start of the school year has been postponed for some students, especially in London and the south-east of England, the most affected.
In areas where schools will open their doors, Johnson encouraged parents to send their children there, indicating that they would be “safe” there. He said: “The risks for children and young people are very low.”
“I understand people’s frustrations and fears, but I have no doubt that schools are safe and education is a priority,” he said.
“We have fought hard during this pandemic across the country to keep schools open,” he said.
But the executive member of the National Association for Education, Jerry Glazier, told Agence France-Presse Sunday that “schools are now playing a major role in spreading the infection” and called for all to be closed for at least two weeks.
“Schools are not safe for children and for education workers,” he added, adding that “many teachers are very concerned about returning to the workplace.”
Johnson noted that public health experts have highlighted the long-term health and social costs of keeping children out of school.
The government has also expressed concern that the closure of schools will create more chaos for students who take their final exams in May and June.
Starting Monday, the vaccine developed by the University of Oxford and AstraZeneca will begin shipping in the UK. There are currently 530,000 doses ready and tens of millions of doses will be available at the end of March after the UK has ordered a total of 100 million doses.
Britain vaccinated about a million people after adopting the Pfizer Bionic vaccine early last month, according to Johnson.
“We hope to be able to vaccinate tens of millions over the next three months,” he said.
(AFP)
