Covid cases in schools ‘rise 70% in one week’

Reopening of schools in England
REUTERS
Sarah Harvey27 June 2021

Covid cases in schools in England have risen 70 per cent in the week to June 20, according to reports.

Government figures show the number of children aged five to nine testing positive for Covid-19 has jumped dramatically with most testing positive for the Delta variant, according to The Times.

There has also been a 56 per cent jump among children aged 10-14.

More than 16,100 pupils were absent from school with a suspected case of Covid in the third week of June, up from 10,600 seven days earlier, the paper reported.

The rise in cases come as parents try to readjust to normal life after months of homeschooling during lockdown.

Kevin Courtney, joint general secretary of the National Education Union, told The Times there was “every prospect of many more children self-isolating” as cases were expected to continue to rise into July.

On Saturday, there were a further 18,270 cases of Covid reported in the UK - the highest daily number since February 5.

A further 23 deaths have also been reported. Last Saturday there were 10,321 new infections and 14 deaths.

It comes as the Government ramps up its drive to vaccinate as many people as possible ahead of the expected relaxing of restrictions on July 19.

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