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The reopening of schools will have an impact on infection rates that could affect the roadmap for lifting the restrictions, warned Boris Johnson, as England’s deputy chief medical adviser said infections were still at a rate in the that a fourth wave could take off.
Johnson warned that the number of patients admitted to hospital with Covid-19 each day was eight times higher than “last summer’s lows” and reiterated that people should follow the “stay home” message.
Jenny Harries, England’s deputy chief medical adviser, said infection rates remained at the same levels as at the end of September, even without the effect of the return of schools. That was the same period when government scientists became so concerned about infection rates that the government was advised to consider a two-week circuit breaker lockout.
Harries said that although there was a sharp decline in cases and deaths, the infections were still causing “substantial strain on the NHS.”
“The rate of cases continues to fall, it is below 100 per 100,000 in all regions of the country, but it is not uniform throughout the country,” he told the Downing Street news conference.
“You can see that the rate is now back to where it was at the end of September. So still quite a high level, this is a level from which a new wave could easily take off again.
“The number of people in hospital with Covid-19 … dropped to around 10,000, but this is still substantial pressure on the NHS … a good sign, but there is still a way to go.”
Johnson said it was right for parents to now send their children back to school and praised those who had led homeschooling, especially mothers.
“We all know that our children’s education is so important that the biggest risk now is keeping them out of school for one more day,” he said. “We all know that the burden has fallen disproportionately on women, who often have jobs and care for their children at the same time.”
Johnson said that while the reopening of the schools was a “crucial first step in what we hope will be our cautious but irreversible roadmap to freedom,” the government would need to monitor the effect of the return of schools on the remainder of the worksheet. route.
“We must remember that today’s return to schools will, of course, have an impact on the spread of the virus,” he said. “And so, at all times and while we decide the next steps to take and when we take them … it is more vital than ever to follow the rules.”
