Gavin wants pupils, their families to get Covid tests

LONDON: The UK Education Secretary has urged students and their families to take a coronavirus test ahead of the return to classrooms next week, following the half-term break.

The Government praised the “herculean efforts” of students and staff after more than 50 million rapid tests have been taken in schools and colleges across England since January. A major testing programme has been in place since March to help identify and isolate asymptomatic cases, and ensure schools are kept open.

Pupils are encouraged to build twice-weekly testing routines, which the Government say has been “critical” to reaching the milestone number of tests.

Gavin Williamson said: “A year ago it was unimaginable to suggest that a testing programme of this scale and impact could be delivered at the speed we have seen.

“I am hugely grateful to the families, students and all those working in education for their role in making it happen. Asymptomatic testing helps break chains of transmission by taking people who are infectious but don’t know it out of circulation.

“As the half term comes to an end, take a Covid test before going back to the classroom.” The Department for Education said Covid-related pupil absence had remained consistently low since the start of the summer term.

It added that approximately 1 per cent of pupils have been absent from state-funded schools for Covid-related reasons each day since April 21. Paul Whiteman, general secretary of National Association of Head Teachers (NAHT) said the latest data on the coronavirus variant first identified in India, also known as the Delta variant, is “certainly concerning” adding it “raises serious questions about the Government’s decision to remove some of the mitigation measures in schools last month.”