Boris Johnson’s next targets: reopen England’s schools, control coronavirus outbreaks

UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson faces a major test overseeing the return to the classroom of England’s schoolchildren in September after five months.

The school reopenings come as Britain, which has recorded more than 46,000 coronavirus-related deaths – the highest toll in Europe – could be witnessing the start of a resurgence of Covid-19 infections.

More than a 1,000 new coronavirus cases were reported in the UK on Wednesday, 300 more than when the country went into lockdown on March 23. Since opening up last month of sectors including retail and restaurants, there have been local outbreaks.

Restrictions have recently been reimposed in some local areas in central and northern England, as well as in the Scottish city of Aberdeen last week, where pubs and restaurants had to close and travel restrictions were renewed.

Although schools remained open for children of essential workers, the majority of children in the UK have not set foot in a classroom for five months. This has raised concern about their social and educational welfare, especially for disadvantaged children. An estimated 700,000 children in the UK do not have computer access at home and some have been using parents’ mobile phones for virtual classes.

“Now that we know enough to reopen schools to all pupils safely, we have a moral duty to do so,” Johnson wrote in an article in The Mail on Sunday.