PM Boris Johnson says schools must open in September
Prime Minister Boris Johnson has said reopening schools in September is imperative, insisting they will be able to teach children safely despite the coronavirus pandemic.
Writing in the Mail on Sunday, Johnson said restarting schools was a “national priority” for the government.
The move follows a study earlier this month which warned that the UK risks a second wave of coronavirus infections this winter — set to be twice as large as the initial outbreak — if schools reopen without major improvements to NHS Test and Trace.
Schools in England closed in March except for the children of key workers, and reopened in June for a small number of pupils.
“Keeping our schools closed a moment longer than absolutely necessary is socially intolerable, economically unsustainable and morally indefensible,” Johnson wrote.
The economic costs for parents who cannot work if schools are shut are rising, and the country will face larger problems in future if children miss out on proper education for too long, the Prime Minister warned.
“This pandemic isn’t over, and the last thing any of us can afford to do is become complacent. But now that we know enough to reopen schools to all pupils safely, we have a moral duty to do so,” he wrote.
Johnson is said to have ordered an advertising campaign to ensure schools open on time, the Sunday Times reported.
He told a meeting of ministers last week that restaurants, pubs and shops would close before schools in the event of a second wave.