Vital school reopening is worth the risk

From the opening up of schools to the expected gradual unravelling of lockdown measures next Monday so people have more chances to socialise, exercise and businesses can operate, it was a welcome way to start the month.

Case numbers also continued their decline.

The return of all children to their schools next week is vital to ensure the collateral damage of lockdown measures is minimised.

Guernsey has been fortunate to avoid the length of closures elsewhere, but there remains a cumulative impact of these two periods of lockdown on young people.

It is not just about traditional learning – schools can be a safe haven away from chaotic households, and also create structure, an environment for social interaction and more activity.

School closures should be a last resort. They can harm the wellbeing of youngsters, while the risk of them passing on the virus needs to be understood in the context that the vast majority live with adults who are under 65 and are therefore less vulnerable, even before taking into account the impact of the vaccine programme and prevalence rates.

Lockdown has shown us, if we did not know it or acknowledge it enough before, just how schooling plays a role in society way beyond getting grades and qualifications.

The return to school is not without risks in terms of the virus, but with testing regimes and other measures in place, that has been mitigated. There is a much greater risk to overall wellbeing with a sustained absence.

The unlocking of lockdown will not be an easy period, not least because it brings with it even more rules and room for confusion and contradiction. Hopefully those will be quickly smoothed out as we move on.

But the benefits of moving down the path of reopening and normalisation have to be remembered, a call for calm and common sense heeded.