Newham not ready for pupils

THE leader of the borough with the highest proportion of deaths from coronavirus in England has said it is “unlikely” schools will reopen at the beginning of June,

writes Rachael Burford.

Newham mayor Rokhsana Fiaz said she was “concerned” about opening schools too early. The council will not take action against parents who choose not to send their children to lessons from next Monday (1), she added.

The government has set a deadline of June 1 for the reopening of primary schools to all children. Currently they are only open to the children of key workers and vulnerable pupils.

Fiaz said: “I’m concerned about the impact schools opening may have on Covid-19 infection rates in the borough, because Newham suffers disproportionately from the virus. I believe our schools should only open for more pupils when it is safe to do so.”

Newham, which is the most ethnically diverse borough in the UK, also had the highest age-standardised Covid-19 related mortality rate in England, with 144.3 deaths per 100,000 population, according to Office for National Statistics (ONS) released earlier this month.

(Local Democracy Reporting Service)