British govt rushing tests to schools so classes can reopen

Schoolchildren returned to classes Monday in parts of Europe, while the British government pledged to rush ventilation units and enough COVID-19 test kits to schools to ensure they, too, can reopen later this week despite soaring infection rates in the UK.

Secondary school students in England also will be required to wear face masks when they return to classes after the Christmas holidays and they could also face merged classes amid staffing shortages.

"The priority is to keep schools open," British Education Secretary Nadhim Zahawi told Sky News. "The testing, the staffing support we’re putting in place, and of course the ventilation is going to make a big difference to schools this year."

The highly transmissible omicron variant has caused Britain’s daily new caseload to soar over Christmas and the New Year, with 137,583 infections and 73 deaths reported for England and Wales only on Sunday, with numbers for Scotland and Northern Ireland to be announced after the holiday weekend.

Patrick Roach, general secretary of the British teachers’ union NASUWT, welcomed news that more ventilation units and testing kits would be available, but warned Sunday that the education industry has another pressing problem as schools prepare to reopen.

“The availability of teachers and support staff is also a key pressure point for schools this term as the number of COVID cases continue to increase," Roach said.

Zahawi addressed the issue Monday, saying the government continues to monitor staff absences amid the pandemic. He told Sky that absenteeism was around 8% last year. "If that rises further then we look at things like merging classes, teaching in bigger numbers,” he said.

Zahawi also told Sky that he hoped guidance that secondary school children should wear masks in the classroom...