Back to school: pupils in England to undergo two Covid-19 tests a week

Children return to classroom in first stage of country's emergence from lockdown

Boris Johnson visits a Covid-19 vaccination centre in London. The British Prime Minister says children returning to schools is the first step of lifting lockdown. AFP

English schoolchildren are set to return to school on Monday for the first time in two months, with a strict testing regime to prevent a rise in cases of Covid-19.

UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson said the return was a step towards normality as the country continued its successful vaccination programme.

Mr Johnson said some businesses were set to reopen next month and the government wants all lockdown restrictions lifted by June 21.

The return to schools is the first step after education officials expressed concerns about the consequences of a year of disrupted lessons, computer-based learning and home schooling.

“I think the risk is actually in not going back to school tomorrow given all the suffering, all the loss of learning we have seen,” he said on Sunday.

The UK was buoyed by a successful start to its vaccination campaign with more than 21 million people, or nearly one third of the population, receiving at least one dose.

The country recorded 125,000 Covid-related deaths, Europe’s worst toll, but it is ahead of its EU neighbours and most other countries in distributing the vaccine.

Pupils will be required to take two Covid-19 tests a week to identify those who may be carrying the virus but show no symptoms.

The government said nearly 57 million test kits were delivered to schools and colleges as part of the programme.

The emergence of new variants of coronavirus raised fears of another increase in cases but public health officials said easing the lockdown in England over the coming weeks should continue as planned.

Britain would have to be prepared in the autumn to ensure the public vaccination programme remains effective with new strains coming into the country from around the world, Public Health England official Susan Hopkins told the BBC.

"I think it won't change it [the strategy] for the next three to five weeks, that would be highly unlikely," Ms Hopkins said.

"We will need to watch it carefully as new strains come into the country from around the world, and we will need to be very ready for autumn."