Pupils are joking that they're 'dying to learn'. Why aren't England's schools closing? | Lola Okolosie

The government urges us to avoid gatherings to contain Covid-19, yet does nothing about classrooms. The situation is fast becoming untenable•Coronavirus – latest updates•See all our coronavirus coverageSchools are to remain open in England. So says a government that, seemingly, worked out later than Twitter that herd immunity would cost a quarter of a million people their lives. It is the same government that is unable to clearly explain the logic behind not testing doctors and nurses on the frontline of fighting this virus. Teachers, therefore, can be forgiven for thinking that our leaders are, again, wrongly interpreting the facts.The rationale for keeping schools open (though Scotland and Wales are closing theirs from Friday) has been that children do not seem to get seriously ill with Covid-19 and that closing schools would cause huge social disruption. Health and social care would suffer as workers remain at home looking after children; grandparents might be tasked with childcare when already at greater risk from the virus. Yet it still remains unclear what role children play in the spread of the virus.Continue reading...
Source: Guardian Unlimited Science - Category: Science Authors: Tags: Coronavirus outbreak Schools Education Teachers' workload Infectious diseases Science UK news Source Type: news