(Adds union pushback from a Telegraph report)
LONDON, Aug 9 (Reuters) - British Prime Minister Boris
Johnson said reopening schools in September was a social,
economic and moral imperative and insisted schools would be able
to operate safely despite the coronavirus pandemic.
His comments follow a study earlier this month which warned
that Britain risks a second wave of COVID-19 in the winter twice
as large as the initial outbreak if schools open without an
improved test-and-trace system.
Writing in the Mail on Sunday, Johnson said restarting
schools was a national priority. Schools would be the last
places to close in future local lockdowns, he was quoted by
another newspaper as telling a meeting on Thursday.
Schools in England 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.
"Keeping our schools closed a moment longer than absolutely
necessary is socially intolerable, economically unsustainable
and morally indefensible," Johnson wrote.
The economic costs for parents who cannot work if schools
are shut are spiralling, and the country faces big problems if
children miss out on education, the prime minister warned.
"This pandemic isn't over, and the last thing any of us can
afford to do is become complacent. But now that we know enough
to reopen schools to all pupils safely, we have a moral duty to
do so," Johnson wrote.
The headteachers' union has criticised Johnson's push and
warned that schools will teach pupils on a "week on-week off"
basis if there is a resurgence of the coronavirus, and are
drawing up a number of contingency plans, according to the
Telegraph.
The Sunday Times newspaper reported that Johnson has ordered
a public relations campaign to ensure schools open on time.
(Reporting by Sarah Young; additional reporting by Bhargav
Acharya; editing by Philippa Fletcher and Leslie Adler)