Parents of secondary school pupils should be allowed to pull them out of classes before the end of term to prevent the spread of coronavirus, a Sage adviser says.
Professor Robert West said it should “be really carefully considered” to help protect families, especially elderly relatives, from the virus at Christmas.
It comes as official data from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) shows rates in England remain highest among secondary school-aged children (school years 7 to 11).
Professor West, of University College London, said parents should be given the choice of removing their children from school before the official end of term so they can self-isolate in the run-up to family gatherings at Christmas.
Have you been affected by coronavirus? Email your story to webnews@mirror.co.uk.
(Image: AFP via Getty Images)
Professor West, who sits on the Scientific Pandemic Insights Group on Behaviours (SPIG-B), which advises Sage, told Times Radio: “One of the things, I think, that some of us have been suggesting is to allow parents to take their children away from schools before the official end of term.
“Not to require it, because it won’t be practicable for some people but where they can do that then what you can potentially get is a situation where you’ve got a number of days before the holiday period starts – before the Christmas period starts – where they can be, if not self-isolated at least at low risk of getting infected and therefore at lower risk of transmitting that to vulnerable people…
“I think it’s something that needs to be really carefully considered.”
New data from the ONS shows number of new Covid-19 infections in England is continuing to fall, and the incidence rate is now at its lowest since the end of September.
There were an average of 25,700 new cases of Covid-19 per day in private households in England between November 22 and 28, the ONS said – down from an estimated 38,900 new cases per day for the period November 8 to 14.
An estimated 521,300 people in private households in England had Covid-19 between November 22 and 28, the equivalent of around 0.96% of the population.
The figures represent a drop from 633,000 people, or 1.16% of the population, who were estimated to have Covid-19 in the period November 15 to 21.
The ONS figures do not include people staying in hospitals, care homes or other institutional settings.
Video Unavailable
(Image: ons.gov.uk)
When modelling the level of infection among different age groups in England, the ONS said rates remain highest among secondary school-aged children (school years 7 to 11) and young adults (school year 12 to age 24).
Rates are estimated to be falling across all age groups, however.
The rollout of the world’s first Covid-19 vaccine will begin in the UK on Tuesday after the medicines regulator approved a jab developed by Pfizer and BioNTech.
It will first be offered to older and vulnerable Britons, and health and social care workers.
(Image: ons.gov.uk)
(Image: ons.gov.uk)
GP surgeries have been told to be ready to start staffing vaccination centres by December 14.
In a letter sent out across England’s primary care networks, NHS England and NHS Improvement warned the “scale and complexity” of the immunisation programme would make it “one of the greatest challenges the NHS has ever faced”.
The UK’s chief medical officers have warned the coronavirus vaccine will only have a “marginal impact” on hospital numbers over the winter.
Festive gatherings are likely to put additional pressure on healthcare services, with a tough few months still ahead, experts said.
In a letter to colleagues, the four chief medical officers said this winter would be “especially hard” for the health service due to coronavirus.
(Image: ons.gov.uk)
The Mirror needs your help to save Christmas for thousands of children in Britain.
We are raising funds for Save the Children UK, so it can buy gifts for some of the country’s most vulnerable kids and offer Christmas meals to hard-up families.
Every penny you donate to our Save a Kid’s Christmas appeal will make a difference.
It could mean one less child going without a hot Christmas meal or pay for the only gift they will get to open.
Or it could help buy books and learning packs for kids who risk falling behind at school.
To support:
- Call: 0800 8148 148
- Visit: www.savethechildren.org.uk/mirror
- Text MIRROR5 TO 70008 to donate £5 or MIRROR10 TO 70008 to donate £10
- Send a cheque payable to Save the Children UK to Freepost Daily Mirror Christmas Appeal 2020, Save the Children, 1 St John’s Lane, London, EC1M 4AR. The Save the Children Fund is a charity registered in England and Wales (213890), Scotland (SC039570) and IOM (199)
“Although the very welcome news about vaccines means that we can look forward to 2021 with greater optimism, vaccine deployment will have only a marginal impact in reducing numbers coming into the health service with Covid over the next three months,” they said.
“The actions and self-discipline of the whole population during lockdowns and other restrictions have helped reduce the peak and in most parts of the four nations hospital numbers are likely to fall over the next few weeks, but not everywhere.
“The social mixing which occurs around Christmas may well put additional pressure on hospitals and general practice in the New Year and we need to be ready for that.”
The letter, signed by chief medical officer of England, Professor Chris Whitty; of Scotland, Dr Gregor Smith; of Wales, Dr Frank Atherton; and of Northern Ireland, Dr Michael McBride, said they did not expect the virus to “disappear” even once full vaccination had occurred.
In total, some 40 million doses of Pfizer’s inoculation are on order – enough to administer it to 20 million people, with two jabs required 21 days apart.
-- to www.mirror.co.uk
