Lower number of pupils at school next week
FEWER young people will be eligible to attend school next week, as Public Health tries to reduce the risks to the community.
Only vulnerable children and children of essential workers will be allowed to go, but the rules have been tightened.
States chief executive Paul Whitfield said they were having to balance the need to support these children against the risks of increased contact between people.
‘So this [return to school] will be for a smaller group of children than was the case in the initial lockdown phase,’ he said.
Only where both parents are essential workers and cannot work from home will their child be eligible to go to school.
‘In the past we made exemptions for certain jobs, such as nurses, doctors and teachers,’ he said.
‘This will not be the case this time... We really do need to keep the numbers in schools down.’
Around 500 were in school during the first lockdown. But under the tightened rules, there could be only around 360 eligible next week.
Teaching staff and all children will have to be tested before they go to school and then regularly thereafter. Staff and parents will be given details of this shortly.
There will then be a rolling programme of weekly testing for children and staff who are attending.
‘So if we identify any cases, we can rapidly get on top of it,’ Mr Whitfield said.
While next week would be half term and there will not be regular teaching, eligible children will be allowed to go.
Children had the chance to voice their worries and ask questions about lockdown of the panel yesterday.
Many of these concerned whether bubbles will be reintroduced and when they can see their friends or extended families again.
Last lockdown some people struggled to choose which household to bubble with, Dr Brink said, so meeting in groups outdoors may be done instead since the virus does not spread as easily outside.
When asked how the virus came back she said that we may likely never know, but Public Health could do things differently in future to prevent another return.
Dr Brink explained how swab testing works, who will be vaccinated, and how staying at home prevents Covid-19 from spreading.
If children contract Covid they tend to not get as sick as adults, and a parent will be able to isolate with them.
Asthmatics who struggle breathing with masks on were advised to talk to their GPs for specific advice.
General immunisations for babies are going ahead, so parents are asked to get their appointments booked in.
