Boris Johnson vows to reopen school in September
Britain’s Prime Minister Boris Johnson poses with his arms out-stretched in a classroom as he pays visit to St Joseph’s Catholic Primary School in Upminster, east London, on Monday to see preparedness plans implemented ahead of the start of the new school year as a response to the coronavirus pandemic.
Britain's Prime Minister Boris Johnson said reopening schools in September was a social, economic and moral imperative and insisted schools would be able to operate safely despite the coronavirus pandemic.
His comments follow a study this month which warned Britain risks a second wave of COVID-19 in the winter twice as large as the initial outbreak if schools open without an improved test-and-trace system.
Writing in the Mail on Sunday, Johnson said restarting schools was a national priority. Schools closed in March during a nationwide lockdown, and reopened in June for a small number of pupils. The government wants all pupils to return in September.
“Keeping our schools closed a moment longer than absolutely necessary is socially intolerable, economically unsustainable and morally indefensible,” Johnson said.
The economic costs for parents who cannot work if schools are shut are spiraling, and the country faces big problems if children miss out on education.
“This pandemic isn’t over, and the last thing any of us can afford to do is become complacent. But now that we know enough to reopen schools to all pupils safely, we have a moral duty to do so,” Johnson wrote.
