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All schools in Wales will be closed until at least 18 January.
Welsh government education minister Kirsty Williams has confirmed that the reopening of schools will be delayed as concerns mount about how the new variant of the coronavirus spreads more easily.
Welsh Health Minister Vaughan Gething had previously said at a press conference that closing schools would be the last resort. See updates from the Welsh Government press conference here.
Steps have already been taken to close schools in other parts of the UK, Scotland will close all schools until February and Boris Johnson hopes to make an announcement on England at 8pm tonight.
In a statement, Ms Williams said that the Welsh government had agreed with the WLGA and Colegau Cymru and that the schools would operate online until January 18.
She said: “Schools and universities will remain open for the children of critical workers and vulnerable students, as well as for students who need to complete essential exams or assessments …
“But it is now clear that a national approach to e-learning for the next fortnight is the best way to contribute to reducing the transmission of the coronavirus.”
See the full statement here.
There has been widespread pressure for the Welsh government to abandon its flexible phase-in reopening plan that calls for schools that could have seen some reopen on January 6. Almost all the schools should have returned by January 11.
Scientists worry that the new variant of the coronavirus is spreading so easily that the pandemic is unlikely to be able to stay in retreat unless schools are closed.
UK scientific advisory body Sage said in the minutes of its December 22 meeting that the R-number is highly unlikely to stay below 1 with schools open.
Video not available
“It is very unlikely that the measures with rigor and compliance in accordance with the [lockdown] the measures in England in November (that is, with schools open) would be sufficient to keep R below 1 in the presence of the new variant, “the minutes read.
“R would be less with schools closed, and closing secondary schools is likely to have a greater effect than closing primary schools. It remains difficult to distinguish where transmission occurs between children and it is important to consider contacts made outside from schools. “
The Association of School and University Leaders (ASCL) Cymru held a meeting with ministers in which they called on the Welsh government to make a national decision on when all schools will reopen.
The NASUWT-The Teachers’ Union has also said they are concerned that schools may not be able to reopen “safely,” and warned that action could be taken.
If confirmed, the measure is a U-turn by the Government of Wales, which hours earlier had said it would not change plans.
When asked at the Welsh Government press conference if it would be justified to keep schools closed if it protected the NHS, Gething said: “Of course this is a serious consideration for us.”
He said the government has been “very clear that closing schools is a last resort” for a variety of reasons, including because it is more difficult for elementary school children to learn online and it is a challenge for children to learn from home while learning. parents work from home. He added that the government made the decision in December to have flexible weeks for the return of students. He said this has given him more time to learn about the emergence of the new strain of the virus.
The health minister said if the evidence from UK medical directors changes, this may lead the Welsh government to make a different decision.
When asked by WalesOnline when parents would have clarity, he added that updated advice is expected in the next few days, saying: “To be really clear, the deliberate choices that we are making are always backed by evidence.”
What difference will closing schools make?
Mr. Gething said today that there was “strong evidence” that students and staff were not transmitting the virus to each other.
He said that the control measures in place have been largely effective, which is a “credit” to the people who run schools in Wales.
Instead, he said the biggest concern about reopening schools is that it is an opportunity for more adults to mingle.
He said adults who would normally be home if their children were learning from home go out to mingle when schools are open, raising concerns about the broader impact of community transmission.
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