Pupils will no longer have to wear face masks in secondary schools and colleges in England, while all university students will resume teaching in person from next week.
The easing of COVID measures will come as part of England’s latest easing of lockdown from Monday, May 17.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson has confirmed that this is when the country will move to step three of its roadmap to lifting restrictions.
Number 10 said the latest data from schools showed coronavirus infection rates among students and staff continued to decline as rates fell more generally across the population.
As a result, students will no longer be required to wear headgear in classrooms or common areas of high schools and colleges.
This was introduced as a “precautionary measure” when schools reopened in England on March 8.
However, students will continue with home testing twice a week.
The decision to end the wearing of face masks in classrooms comes despite a group of government advisers who stressed last month “the importance of maintaining current mitigation measures in schools.”
In a document released last Friday, it was revealed that members of the Operational Subgroup of the Pandemic Influenza Scientific Group on Modeling (SPIM-O) had, on April 21, noted a “modest increase” in positivity in school-aged children in an office for National Statistical Survey on Infections.
This followed the period between the reopening of schools on March 8 and the Easter holidays.
“This highlights the importance of maintaining current mitigation measures in schools, such as testing and wearing masks, in the months to come,” SPIM-O said in the document.
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Source: news.sky.com
This notice was published: 2021-05-10 19:39:00
