Bring back face coverings to limit school Covid disruption

Four education unions representing teachers and support staff are today (Tuesday) calling on the government to reinstate face coverings in schools to limit coronavirus spread. With infections on the rise once more, the unions have issued a joint statement demanding a range of safety measures to keep education on track and reduce the risk of further closures. The unions that have signed are UNISON, GMB, Unite and NEU. The joint statement says: “Education unions are deeply concerned that secondary school age students now have the highest rates of Covid-19 infection of all age groups, according to Public Health England (PHE) and the Office for National Statistics (ONS) data, and those rates are rising. “At the weekend, the Health Secretary acknowledged that ‘a huge proportion of the latest cases are in children’, that they pass on the virus to the local community and face risks from long Covid. “That means over the next few weeks more children and young people are likely to be ​off self-isolating and missing out on face-to-face education. “PHE has advised that the Delta variant is more transmissible, can lead to more serious infections and vaccine​s may be less effective against it. “Action must be taken now to make face-to-face learning safer over the remain​der of ​the school term​. Outbreaks mean bubbles, classes or entire year groups ​must be ​sent home. The priority must be to avoid any further loss of education. “This i...
Source: UNISON Health care news - Category: UK Health Authors: Tags: News Press release coronavirus schools face coverings school staff Source Type: news