Education secretary: Test children for Covid daily instead of sending them home
Education secretary Nadhim Zahawi has urged that children undergo daily Covid-19 testing to avoid them missing out on school.
Zahawi said the approach would be “much better”, with children in school and taking lateral flow tests as opposed to being at home due to coming in contact with a positive case.
Daily testing should be used in place of sending classes home amid an outbreak, the education secretary added.
It comes as positivity rates remain highest in secondary school pupils, according to the latest figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS), which has pushed an increase in absentees.
Some 34,000 students were absent from school in England on October 21 due to isolation measures, the government’s attendance figures have shown.
Secondary school age children, 12 to 15-year-olds, have been able to receive Covid-19 vaccines since September – with bookings surging just weeks later.
Health secretary Sajid Javid said last week: “Our historic vaccine rollout continues to go from strength to strength, and more than 80,000 young people aged 12 to 15 have now booked in to receive their jab.
“The vaccines are available to young people through a tried and tested school immunisation programme and parents or guardians can book a jab at local vaccination sites, making it easier and more convenient for everyone to secure this important protection ahead of the winter months.”
The health secretary urged that the vaccines are safe and “help keep children in the classroom so they can learn and spend time with their friends”.