'Vitally important for children to return to class' Says Boris Johnson

LONDON: UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson said that it was "vitally important" for children to return to classrooms, with the life chances of a generation at stake, it was reported on Monday. Separate guidance for reopening schools has been published for England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, the BBC reported.

In Scotland, schools have already reopened, while some students in Northern Ireland will return to school on Monday. In England and Wales, in-person classes are set to begin in September. In a statement released on Sunday evening, Johnson thanked school staff for spending the summer "making classrooms COVID-secure". "I have previously spoken about the moral duty to reopen schools to all pupils safely," he said.

"We have always been guided by our scientific and medical experts, and we now know far more about coronavirus than we did earlier this year." Echoing England's chief medical officer Professor Chris Whitty remarks, Johnson said that "the risk of contracting COVID-19 in school is very small and it is far more damaging for a child's development and their health and wellbeing to be away from school any longer". (IANS)

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