Delay reopening schools, Lancashire health boss warns

Schools shut for most pupils on 20 March and only key workers' children and vulnerable pupils have been attending since

The director of public health in Lancashire has warned there could be a spike in Covid-19 cases if schools open more widely from next month.

The government intends to phase reopening of schools starting with reception, Year 1 and 6 from 1 June.

Dr Sakthi Karunathini said reopening then risked schools in the county being unable to contain further outbreaks.

Schools officially closed to all pupils on 20 March except for vulnerable pupils and the children of key workers.

'Not confident'

A spokesman for The Department for Education said: "We want children back in schools as soon as possible because being with their teachers and friends is so important for their education and their wellbeing."

Adding: "We recognise that some schools may not be able to open to more pupils immediately."

However guidance from Dr Karunathini, director of public health in Lancashire, suggests the scheduled return is premature from a public health perspective.

"The test and trace programme is not at a state of readiness to respond to Covid-19 community setting outbreaks in a timely manner, which poses a risk to school environments," his guidance reads.

"Furthermore, we are not confident adjustments to the current measures of the lockdown policy will not risk a second peak of infections locally," the Local Democracy Reporting Service (LDRS) has reported.

Dr Karunathini continued: "We have carefully assessed the five tests the government has set for the easing of the lockdown measures and, at this stage, we cannot say with confidence that all of them are being met in Lancashire.

"Therefore we are advising schools they should not reopen to more pupils from 1 June."

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He said the advice would be "under constant review".

Lancashire County Council said the decision on whether to open schools lay with the head teacher, in consultation with governors, "but we are actively encouraging schools to follow our advice".

Last week more than 35 councils in England warned that not all of their primary schools would be ready to reopen on Monday.

Blackburn with Darwen Council has urged its schools to stay closed until at least 8 June.