Aug 8 (Reuters) - British Prime Minister Boris Johnson has
ordered a public relations campaign to ensure schools reopen on
time in September and said in a meeting that they should be the
last places to close even in case of a local lockdown, The
Sunday Times newspaper reported.
"The PM stressed (in a Thursday meeting) that the harm done
to children's education by not attending school as well as to
their mental health is far more damaging than the low risk posed
(by the coronavirus), which schools will be carefully managing,"
the newspaper quoted a source as having said.
A study published on Tuesday said Britain risks a second
wave of COVID-19 this winter twice as large as the initial
outbreak if it reopens schools full-time without improving its
test-and-trace system.
Schools in Britain closed in March during a national
lockdown, except for the children of key workers, and reopened
in June for a small number of pupils. The government wants all
pupils to return to school by early September, with Johnson
calling this a national priority.
(Reporting by Kanishka Singh in Bengaluru; Editing by Daniel
Wallis)