Caution needed before children return to school - Peterborough Labour leader

Michael Gove emphasised on Sunday that he wants this to happen.

In theory, I agree with them. Education is vitally important for our children’s future. However, I also agree with New York’s Governor Cuomo: when pressed by a reporter about when he was going to re-open his state, he stated a simple, stark truth. “The illness is death!” he said. He went on to explain that it wasn’t necessarily his death, it was the death of people around an infected person. He admonished the reporter, “Get your head around the ‘we’ concept.”

There is a great deal we don’t know about the coronavirus. Sometimes it is accompanied by the adjective, “novel”. This indicates that this is new, unknown. We don’t have a full idea of its long-term effects. There are a variety of reports indicating that it can leave scarring on the lungs among other problems. For those who have survived the disease, we don’t know how long their immunity to reinfection lasts. We are still in the process of discovery, albeit, it is happening much more quickly than with previous diseases.

Given this, we should be extremely cautious. Jacinda Ardern, the Prime Minister of New Zealand, asked her people to act like they had the virus, even if they did not. The subsequent behaviour changes along with lockdown measures meant that New Zealand has more or less eradicated the virus, and the country is starting on the path to normality. We have not been so fortunate. We have not experienced a death rate this high from a single event since the London Blitz.

The information we have so far suggests that children do suffer a far lower rate of mortality from the disease than older people. However, my counterpoint is this: what about children who live in multi-generational homes? In many cases, children don’t necessarily go home from school to their parents, but to grandma and grandpa. What about them? What about children who live with those with pre-existing conditions or have pre-existing conditions themselves? In order to prevent a further outbreak what social distancing measures will be in place?

How much will this cost? If more square footage is required, how will that be obtained? Will there be a scheme, perhaps, whereby some children go on one day and others go on another? If so, how will lesson plans be carried out? The beginning of June seems far too soon for these issues to be resolved. I am worried by the fact that we are being urged to send our children back to school by a man who publicly disdained the advice of experts.

I return to Governor Cuomo’s point, “The illness is death”. It may not mean my death, or your death. But it could be someone close to you. It could be someone who you love, who has a family, hopes, aspirations, and dreams.

We should weigh up the risks with this in mind before we do anything, take the time, if we need it, to be sure. The costs are far too high if we get it wrong.