Parents who will refuse to send their children to school if they reopen in June

Parents have spoken of their fears of sending their children to school if a gradual reopening of classrooms begins in June.

Welsh Prime Minister Mark Drakeford suggested that schools could start a gradual return in June while speaking at the Andrew Marr show on Sunday.

Drakeford said it would take “at least three weeks” to plan a reopening, with students with special educational needs, sixth-year students, and children learning Welsh but not having Welsh speakers at home, being the first to re-enter. the classroom.

The prime minister clarified his position on Monday, telling reporters that no decision had been made on when to reopen schools in Wales and that he had only said that next month was as soon as possible.

In addition, he assured parents that fines would not be issued if they decided not to send their children to school.

Lisa Hodge, 31, has two children, ages 5 and 7, who attend Glan Usk Elementary School in Newport.

She said she was not comfortable sending her children back to school until she could be sure it was safe to do so.

“I won’t send mine until it’s safe,” said Lisa.

“If the number of daily deaths remains in the hundreds, then they will stay home.

“I say this with a big heart because I know that my seven-year-old son, who is struggling at school due to dyslexia, was just beginning to progress, so he should return to school as soon as possible, but at no cost.

“Personally, I wouldn’t feel comfortable sending them back to school until we know that we are returning to normal.”

She suffers from asthma and said she was concerned about her children’s potential to bring a virus home.

“We all know that children are super propagators of everything,” he said.

“Especially at their age. They literally have no idea of ​​social distancing. Telling them to stay away from each other in the yard will not work.”

“It wouldn’t work for teens, so it definitely wouldn’t work for them.”

Louise Telford’s 10-year-old son attends St Illtyd Elementary School in Llantwit Major.

The 36-year-old woman said her son would not return to school initially if schools reopened in June.

“I am terrified of reopening schools,” he said.

“I think people have forgotten the concept of ‘waves’ within pandemics.

“We have had the first wave, the second will hit when the public desperately strives for a ‘normal’ existence once again. We are a generation of humans who find it very difficult to educate our own children.”

Louise said she managed an autoimmune disease and received chemotherapy, so she had been protecting herself at home for about seven weeks.

“Children are innately unclean, they cough and sneeze without covering their faces and then wash their hands,” he said.

“I am a single mother, so obviously if my son went back to school and got sick, there is a chance that he could end up in an ICU. He could end up with his grandparents putting them at risk in turn. Then there is a blow in effect. “

In Denmark, the first country outside Asia to ease its coronavirus blockade, the government began reopening nurseries and schools for children in first through fifth grade about two weeks ago.

On Thursday of last week, the State Serum Institute, which is responsible for preparing for infectious diseases, said there was no evidence that the Covid-19 epidemic was accelerating after schools reopened.

However, Andrea Lewis, 34, said she would be happy if her six-year-old son and four-year-old daughter returned to Townhill Elementary School in Swansea as soon as they reopened.

“Many people are bogged down, depressed, and involved in the media since the closure and assume that if the virus is spread, it dies,” Andrea said.

“We need to develop and strengthen immunity to things, and locking ourselves and children up will not do that.”

“Mine are four and six and I think they are low risk. They have no underlying problems, they are in good health and they are young, which is not usually one of the categories of people in whom this virus has the worst impact.”

“People should have a choice. Many live too scared and if they want to keep their children away, so be it.

“I don’t want others to express their opinions and prevent my children from starting to go back to school because I feel safe knowing that if things get worse with their health, we have medical support available.”