Allowing all children to return to school will not cause a second coronavirus wave, new modelling suggests. From this week, reception pupils as well as those in years one and six have been back in primary school classrooms, but some experts have voiced concerns that the coronavirus reproduction ‘R’ number is still too high to be releasing lockdown. Modelling from the University of Warwick suggests the partial lifting will not push the ‘R’ number above one and spark a rise in new cases. The study also shows that allowing all school years to return will not cause a second wave, but researchers say there must be close monitoring of the ‘R’ rate in order to make sure it is not creeping up. Despite the modelling, the authors say the Government should bring back pupils gradually so that they can see how schools will interact with other lockdown measures being lifted. Officials must be ready to reintroduce measures quickly should there be a significant rise in the number of new cases, they add.
