Pupils are more likely to be hit by a bus on their way to school than catch coronavirus in the classroom, the deputy chief medical officer claimed today.
Dr Jenny Harries said the risk of children being involved in a traffic accident or of catching the flu are ‘probably higher than the current risk’ posed by the deadly virus.
Meanwhile, Education Minister Nick Gibb this morning insisted parents will be fined if they refuse to send their children back to school next week.
He also said the Government is sticking by its advice to teachers that they do not need to wear masks despite a growing row with unions over staff safety.
Public Health England data has shown that teachers are more likely to be infected than their pupils, after one in 23,000 students tested positive during the partial reopening of schools before the summer holidays.
Boris Johnson, fresh from his holiday to Scotland last week, today issued a plea to parents to send their children back to the classroom when schools reopen in England at the start of September.
The Prime Minister said in a video posted on his Twitter account that he knew some parents were ‘still a bit worried’ about sending children back to school but he insisted it is ‘vital’ for pupil’s physical and mental health.
He said the risk of children catching the disease is ‘very, very, very small’ and the risk of them suffering badly from it is ‘very, very, very, very, very small indeed’.
The Government remains under pressure over its handling of the return of schools with Tory MPs today complaining ministers have left it ‘very late’ to persuade parents it is safe.
Boris Johnson today admitted that some parents are ‘still a bit worried’ about the return of schools
But the PM said it is ‘vital’ for pupils to return to class, not just to resume their learning but also because of the damage staying away could do to their physical and mental health
Mr Johnson was back in Downing Street today after a week-long holiday in Scotland last week
Dr Jenny Harries, the Deputy Chief Medical Officer, today said children were more likely to be hit by a bus than catch coronavirus at school
Many pupils in England have not been to class since March, when schools were closed except to look after vulnerable children and those of key workers.
Schools in Scotland reopened earlier this month, while those in Northern Ireland will welcome pupils again on Monday. English and Welsh schools will follow suit in September.
The Government today stepped up its efforts to prepare for the return of pupils as Dr Harries suggested the risk coronavirus poses to pupils is actually very small.
She told Sky News: ‘Every time a parent sends their child off to school, pre-Covid, they may have been involved in a road traffic accident – there are all sorts of things.
‘That risk, or the risk of seasonal flu, we think is probably higher than the current risk of Covid.’
Her comments sparked controversy on social media as some accused her of ‘shockingly superficial thinking’.
Dr Harries also told the BBC: ‘No environment anywhere we can say is 100 per cent risk free so I think we need to make that clear.
‘But it clearly is very confusing for parents at the moment and so all the UK chief medical officers and deputy chief medical officers right across Wales, Scotland, Northern Ireland and England have looked at the evidence and put that down on a statement so that parents can understand the risk.
‘We think that the risks for children in schools is exceptionally small from Covid but the risks of not attending school are significant.’
Mr Gibb said this morning that all pupils must return to the classroom and that fines will be issued to parents who refuse to comply.
He said: ‘Fines for non-attendance have always been a last resort for head teachers and schools.’
On the crunch issue of whether teachers should wear masks, Mr Gibb said the current guidance against doing so will remain in place.
He said: ‘We are always led by the scientific advice. What the current advice is is that if a school puts in place the measures that are in the guidance that we issued in early July, all of the hygiene pleasures I have been talking about, then masks are not necessary for staff or pupils.’
Schools Minister Nick Gibb today insisted teachers do not need to wear masks when they teach
Asked if he believed the guidance could change, he said: ‘We always listen to whatever the current advice is from Public Health England, the chief medical officers, we always adhere to that advice.’
Unison is one a number of unions who have called for teachers to be allowed to wear a mask or face covering.
‘It’s still unclear why government guidance won’t allow them, when they’re recommended for other workplaces,’ the union said.
Public Health England data showed the partial reopening of schools before the summer holidays resulted in just one in 23,000 children catching coronavirus.
Some 70 children tested positive out of more than 1.6 million who were in class, with many confirmed as having the disease actually being asymptomatic.
But some 128 staff members tested positive, with most transmission believed to have taken place between adults.
However, while staff are more likely to be infected than pupils they are no more likely to be infected than the general population.
The Government’s handling of the schools return, and last week’s debacle over A-level and GCSE results, has sparked Tory MP fury.
Sir Iain Duncan Smith, the former Conservative leader, told The Telegraph schools and parents needed a ‘clear message’ that it is ‘completely safe to return’.
‘They have left it very late and the debacle of exam results means parents don’t trust the Government any more,’ he said.
Sir Iain urged Mr Johnson to ‘lead, galvanising his inner Churchill’ in order to reverse the Government’s fortunes.
Mr Johnson is urging parents to send their children back to school and in a video posted on his Twitter account this morning, he said it is ‘absolutely vital’ that classes restart full time across England next week.
Schools in Scotland reopened earlier this month, while those in Northern Ireland will welcome pupils again on Monday. English and Welsh schools will follow suit in September.
Sir Iain Duncan Smith has warned that ministers have left it ‘very late’ to persuade parents to send their children back to school and that trust had been damaged by the A-level results fiasco
‘It is vital for their education, it is vital for their welfare, it is vital for their physical and indeed their mental wellbeing, so let’s make sure all pupils get back to school at the beginning of September,’ he said.
‘I think parents are genuinely still a bit worried about their children contracting coronavirus.
‘All I can say is the risks are very, very, very small that they will even get it but then the risks that they will suffer from it badly are very, very, very, very, very small indeed.’
The PM had said in a statement issued overnight that there is a ‘moral duty to reopen schools to all pupils safely’.
The UK’s chief medical officers yesterday issued a joint statement seeking to reassure parents that it is safe to send their children back to school.
They said ‘very few, if any’ children and teenagers would come to long-term harm from the virus solely by attending school, while there was a ‘certainty’ of harm from not returning.
Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer said Mr Johnson’s commitment to get all children back to school was at ‘serious risk’ after a ‘week of chaos’ over exam results.