Children in secondary schools in England will be told to wear face coverings when they return after the Christmas holiday next week to tackle a surge in cases of the Omicron variant of COVID-19, Education Secretary Nadhim Zahawi said on Sunday.
"We want to maximise the number of children in school and college for the maximum amount of time," he said in an article in the Sunday Telegraph.
"One of the additional, temporary measures that will help achieve this in light of the omicron surge is recommending face coverings are worn in secondary school classrooms and teaching spaces for the coming weeks – although not for longer than they are needed."England was the only one of the four UK nations where face coverings were not previously recommended in the classroom.
With daily infection numbers at record highs and people who test positive required to isolate for at least seven days, schools and other public services are facing disruption from staff shortages. The government has asked public sector managers to prepare for a worst-case scenario of 25% of staff absent in the weeks ahead.Zahawi said some remote learning would be necessary given the number of pupils and teachers who would have to self-isolate.
But he added that face-to-face teaching would continue to be the expected norm and exams would go ahead as planned this month.Reporting by Paul Sandle, Editing by Louise HeavensSubscribe for our daily curated newsletter to receive the latest exclusive Reuters coverage delivered to your inbox.
Canada Latest News, Canada Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Schools urged to tighten testing, upgrade masks when they reopen Monday amid Omicron surgeSchools need to brace for increased COVID-19 outbreaks when districts resume classes after winter break, county officials warned as they raced to send out COVID-19 test kits and urged students and staff to increase the quality of their masks.
Read more »
Ring in the New Year wearing N95 masks: ‘A simple one-layer cloth mask does not provide nearly enough protection’A cloth mask is better than no mask, but N95, KN95 and KF94 masks are better protection against omicron, experts say
Read more »
Rapid tests, lots of rapid tests: How US schools plan to reopen amid omicron-fueled COVID surgeIn anticipation of steep challenges reopening schools amid an omicron-driven surge of infections, districts are planning to ramp up COVID-19 testing when classes resume in January.
Read more »
Omicron variant: Where to buy N95, KN95, disposable face masksWhile cloth masks were helpful in the past against the original coronavirus variants, health experts now have differing opinions on whether that is still the case
Read more »
Israel begins administering 4th vaccine dose amid omicron surgeIsrael has begun delivering a fourth vaccine dose for the most vulnerable to coronavirus as it prepares for a wave of infections driven by the omicron variant.
Read more »