Dated: Tuesday 6 July 2021
Government’s “alarming” approach abandons children to the risks of Covid, says UNISON
Responding to the announcement from the education secretary today (Tuesday) that school bubbles and self-isolation are to be scrapped from 19 July, UNISON assistant general secretary Jon Richards said:
“The government’s alarming approach abandons children to a highly transmissible virus spreading at a record pace through schools.
“Safety measures like bubbles and self-isolation are proven to reduce the spread of the virus.
“With around one in ten pupils reporting symptoms of long Covid weeks after infection, this is a dangerous gamble from the government.
“The only way to minimise risk is for tried and tested safety measures like masks, good ventilation and self-isolation to stay.
“Allowing the virus to spread rapidly amongst unvaccinated pupils provides an ideal environment for new variants to emerge.”