Test all pupils in school, Blair institute urges

THE Government should begin a threeweek mass screening programme in schools to speed up the return of pupils and boost confidence among parents and teachers, the Tony Blair Institute for Global Change has said.

The non-profit body founded by the former prime minister made the proposal after data from Public Health England showed an uptick in confirmed Covid-19 cases in schools in June. Outbreaks in France and Israel have also been linked to schools.

The paper argues that while the bulk of Covid data on schools and children remain positive, there is an urgent need to “build confidence” and understand the elements of schooling that present most risk.

Most importantly, it says, there is a need to understand what role, if any, schools might play in so-called “superspreading events” in which a small number of often asymptomatic infections are responsible for a large number of secondary cases.

“Schools must reopen fully in September. [But] this critically important objective faces two barriers” says the

IGC paper. The Government must overcome “fear among pupils, parents and teachers, rooted in perceived health risks of the school setting”. It must also gear up testing in order that teachers and pupils “know their Covid-19 status, allowing outbreaks to be contained”.

The number of “acute respiratory outbreaks” in schools rose from 24 to 44 over the two weeks to June 21, according to data from PHE.

An outbreak is defined as two or more people experiencing a similar illness which appears to be linked to a particular setting.

While the PHE report stated the rise “coincides with wider school reopening”, it pointed out it follows an “expansion of testing and contract tracing”.

The IGC proposal would lead to a representative sample of nearly 400,000 pupils and 30,000 teachers and support staff being tested twice a week for the first three weeks after schools return in September.

Testing would be conducted at 1,054 nurseries, 679 primary schools and 136 secondary schools across the UK.

“This approach of focusing on [potential] super-spreading settings will catch outbreaks in their nascent stages and ultimately help to prevent a second wave”, says the paper.

“The evidence from this programme will work to restore people’s confidence, allowing teachers and students to return.”

Schools have reopened in many countries around the world over the last few months, most without having any problems. Robust evidence shows that young children and young adults have only a fractional risk of developing serious Covid-19 disease. There is also some evidence to suggest that primary schoolchildren are much less likely than adults to spread the infection.

The bigger concern among epidemiologists is the role secondary school settings may play in carrying the virus and spreading it into the community.

This cohort, which numbers around three million in the UK, are more social and independent than primary schoolchildren and therefore pose a higher risk of carrying households.

Data collected by Unesco on school reopenings around the world shows that as of June 19, 123 countries still had countrywide school closures.

Early evidence from the EU in midMay, where 17 countries had returned early years, primary years and final years in secondary suggested no significant increase in infections.

“This trend has continued as many others successfully reopened schools without noticing a surge in cases”, says the IGC report.