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Boris Johnson has emphasized that ministers will prioritize keeping schools open this winter while addressing any increase in coronavirus cases.
The government intends to continue to use local lockdowns to control the spread of the virus in the worst affected areas – an approach the prime minister has called a “hit to a mole.”
In a question-and-answer video with parents, posted by Downing Street on Friday night, Johnson confirmed that other public places, such as pubs and restaurants, would close first, and that schools would close as a last resort.
“We are very hopeful that even if there are local closures, which I’m afraid there will almost certainly be because we expect more local peaks, schools should be the last part of society that we want to close again.” ” he said.
Johnson appeared alongside England’s deputy chief medical officer Jenny Harries in an online question-and-answer session taped Thursday and posted by Issue 10 after the edit.
With only a few days left for pupils in England to start the fall term, the couple repeatedly underscored the fact that children are safe in schools.
“The evidence is overwhelming that it is in the interest of the well-being and health of children and young people to go back to school rather than miss more. So it is the healthiest and safest thing, ”said the prime minister.
Harries said: “A lot of evidence is accumulating now that transmission in schools is low – it can happen, but it is rare.” She added: “It is a safe place for them. It’s a very controlled environment. “
Johnson has emphasized that ensuring children return to school full time is a “national priority,” after failing to achieve his goal of ensuring that all elementary school children return to the classroom one month before summer vacation.
Instead, only a few years returned to school in June, leaving many children without face-to-face teaching for more than five months.
Despite Johnson’s optimism about keeping schools open, the Department of Education has asked principals to prepare contingency plans for online instruction in the event they are forced to close in the coming months. It published guidance on Friday night warning schools that additional methods, such as rotations, may be necessary “in exceptional circumstances” to limit on-site attendance at high schools and colleges.
Harries established what parents should do if their child gets sick. “If they have symptoms of Covid, then obviously go online or call 119 and book a test, and isolate yourself until they are sure the child is not sick with Covid,” she said.
If the test is positive, he stressed that only children who have come in close contact with the affected student will be asked to isolate themselves, in consultation with local public health officials.
Earlier this week, the government changed its advice on face masks, saying high school students should wear them in hallways and common areas in parts of the country where local closures are in place.
But in response to a question from Charlotte, the mother of a deaf child, Johnson emphasized: “We don’t want to see face masks in classrooms, whether they are worn by teachers or students. It is not necessary. In fact, it is necessary not to have it, because it is very difficult to teach or learn with a mask, and that is ruled out. “
