Closing schools ‘not appropriate step to take,’ says minister
WALES, England, Scotland and Northern Ireland will not be following Ireland’s lead and closing schools to prevent the coronavirus outbreak spreading further.
Speaking at a press conference yesterday afternoon, Wales’ Health Minister Vaughan Gething said closing schools now is “not the appropriate step to take”.
There is widespread expectation that by next Friday schools will be closed for at least a month if the Covid-19 outbreak continues to spread.
However, Mr Gething said there was no need to do it now, despite the number of cases in Wales rising further.
He said: “Ministers have had very clear advice that closing schools is not an appropriate step to take, but we are still reviewing that advice and it may change in the future.”
He added that if schools were to close, it would be for a “sustained period” and not just a few days.
“If we do close schools, we’d have to assess what impact that will have on those people who would not be going to work to look after their children, such as those in the police or health service who we’d want to remain in work.
“And if parents can’t look after their children, then the next people most likely to look after them are older members of the family who are more likely to be in at-risk groups, who we are trying to protect.”
Prime Minister Boris Johnson also gave a press conference yesterday in which he said there are no plans to shut schools yet.
He added: “The scientific advice is that this could do more harm than good, but this could change. Schools should only close if they are specifically advised to do so.”
But he advised schools against foreign trips.
In Scotland, First Minister Nicola Sturgeon said schools, colleges and universities would not be advised to close yet but said the issue would be kept “under review”. She said when schools close, they may have to stay shut until the summer.
In Ireland, schools, colleges and childcare centres will close for two weeks in an unprecedented lockdown.
Taoiseach Leo Varadkar also said large indoor and outdoor gatherings should be cancelled, while the country’s army is ready to respond to requests for emergency help.
Home working is encouraged and socialising should be limited, official advice said.
It adds that break-times in workplaces must be staggered to reduce the infection’s spread and meetings should be held remotely.
Government plans aim to ensure the food supply chain remains uninterrupted and shops are to stay open.
Restaurants, cafés and other businesses can continue trading but should look at ways to implement public health advice recommending social distancing.
Mr Varadkar said: “We have not witnessed a pandemic of this nature in living memory. This is uncharted territory.”
Ireland recorded its first death from Covid-19 this week, an elderly woman being treated in a Dublin hospital.
A letter from Dr Tony Holohan, Ireland’s chief medical officer, to the Government said the number of cases detected had significantly increased in recent days.
It noted a number of intensive care unit hospital admissions.
The death, clusters of infection including at two hospitals and community transmission were other factors behind the advice.
The move was also in line with communication from the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control that cases outside known cases of transmission represented a strong signal for social distancing.
Cultural institutions like museums and tourist sites will close in an effort to limit spread of the virus. All indoor gatherings of more than 100 people and outdoor events involving more than 500 should be cancelled, the Irish Government said. Arrangements are being made to ensure everyone entering Ireland through ports and airports is fully informed and self-isolates if they develop symptoms.
Mr Varadkar said: “Together we can slow the virus in its tracks and push it back. Acting together, as one nation, we can save many lives.”
Northern Ireland First Minister Arlene Foster defended the decision not to close schools, saying: “The timeliness of intervention is very important and that is why the science and the evidence is important.”
She said she had no prior notice of what the Irish Government was going to do. She said the difference between the jurisdictions was that there had been community transfer of the virus in the Republic.