First-day nerves
Kids sit far apart in ‘new normal’ classes Half stay home as virus fears continue Warnings of restrictions lifted too soon
HAND gel, health checks and classes half-full were the new normal for hundreds of thousands of pupils returning to school yesterday.
Children desperate to catch up with classmates after 10 weeks away had to sit far apart, have their temperatures taken and use hand sanitiser doled out by staff wearing protective masks.
Schools that have been open only for the children of key workers and vulnerable kids reopened to Reception, Year 1 and Year 6 pupils in England.
But attendance was low as many parents kept their children away amid fears that restrictions are being lifted too soon.
One school shut after seven staff tested positive for Covid-19. Arboretum Primary School in Derby will reopen next week after a deep clean but all staff, parents and kids in contact with those infected must self-isolate for 14 days.
It came amid nationwide confusion as the 2.2 million people most vulnerable to the virus who have been shielding at home were told they could now go outside, sooner than expected. Experts are “increasingly concerned” ministers made the wrong call by easing restrictions too soon, said the Association of Directors of Public Health. And the British Medical Association warned the Government against complacency as a poll of 7,000 doctors revealed fears of a second peak overwhelming the NHS. BMA chairman Dr Chaand Nagpaul said: “We must not forget the infection rate in the community remains worryingly high. “The risk from this highly infectious illness remains significant and if there is further spread thousands more families could lose loved ones before their time.” He called for a fully functioning test, trace and isolate system, which health chiefs admit could still be weeks away. Health Secretary Matt Hancock claimed the scheme, which began last week, was “successful”, but could not say how many people had been contacted.
There were 1,570 new Covid-19 cases yesterday, official figures showed, suggesting transmission is not yet under control. And estimates from King’s College London say daily infections are as high as 11,000 across the UK, with cases in the North around 4,500 a day.
The coronavirus alert level is still 4, where it has been since the start of the lockdown on March 23. The alert, set by a new Joint Biosecurity Centre, means Covid-19 remains “in general circulation” and transmission is “high or rising”.
Officials said it was moving towards Level 3, or low transmission, but was not there yet. But Business Secretary Alok Sharma denied the Government had undertaken a “dash” to re-start the economy at the expense of public health. He claimed there was a “good likelihood”
the lockdown changes would not push the transmission rate above 1 as long as people follow the rules and there is an effective test-and-trace system.
Schools reopened to kids in Reception, Year 1 and Year 6 in England after 10 weeks taking just the children of key workers and vulnerable youngsters.
But half of parents may have kept their children at home over safety fears – around a million pupils in total, surveys suggested. Dozens of councils in England sided with teaching unions who have warned it is still not safe to send pupils back to school. At least 54 local authorities told heads not to reopen or left the decision to them.
Schools were reporting attendance between 40% and 70% of the eligible pupils, said Geoff Barton of the Association of School and College Leaders.
Children at Hiltingbury Infant
School in Chandler’s Ford, Hants, learned the new rules of social distancing and “helicopter arms” as they returned. Headteacher Cathy Moden said just 39 of the 90 children in Reception year had turned up.
In Bristol, mum Angie Parker, 47, was “going against her instincts” as she took her daughter to Ashton Gate Primary School in Southville. She said: “In all honesty. I think it’s too soon for the schools to be opening. But this school has been so remarkable. The staff have been amazing. The detail they have gone into – that’s why [the children] are here.”
No 10 appeared to soften an earlier plan for all primary kids to be back for a whole month before summer, with the PM’s official spokesman saying the plan was “under review”.
It came as the Children’s Commissioner Anne Longfield said pupils should attend special lessons over the summer to stop them from falling behind after so many missed classes.
Downing Street confirmed it was looking at “additional measures” to get children up to speed after absences.
Mr Hancock admitted coronavirus is “not done yet” but claimed the data showed Britain was “winning the battle”. He added: “We are therefore able to make some cautious changes to the lockdown rules, carefully and safely.”
The official daily death toll of 111 announced by Mr Hancock was the lowest since lockdown began.
However, the total UK toll from the pandemic rose to 39,045 – up 556 on the previous day.
This was because 445 historical deaths were added retrospectively in addition to the new ones after test results came in from private labs.
STAYING safe and taking baby steps must be the new normal or the plague will spread rapidly again – and a second wave of deaths could trigger fresh restrictions.
From the limited reopening of schools in England to the return of horse racing, the Government’s taking gambles which many applaud but leave others extremely fearful.
With no vaccine against potentially fatal Covid-19, social distancing and sticking to the two-metre rule is the best protection against an unseen deadly enemy.
Families and friends will be much safer sticking to the rules instead of brazenly flouting regulations, as Boris Johnson’s chief adviser Dominic Cummings did by driving to a beauty spot when such trips were banned.
The official death toll stands at 39,045 – nearly double the 20,000 limit that would have been a “good outcome”.
The PM has let us down. Only common sense can save us from a higher toll, with trust in a blundering Government evaporating.