Boris Johnson is set to announce the closure of all UK schools this afternoon, as he initiates the “delay phase” of the coronavirus response.
Boris Johnson will chair an emergency COBRA meeting on coronavirus today, where he is expected to escalate the country’s response to coronavirus. The Government is poised to move to the “delay phase”, which includes social distancing measures such as school closures, cancelling public events and urging employees to work from home where possible. It comes as teachers have been told to prepare “home-learning packs” for students, amid fears schools could be closed for more than two months.
Schools are expected to close their doors on March 20, just weeks before the traditional Easter break, the Mirror reports.
The closure would mean pupils spend a month out of the classroom, but schools could be forced to close their doors for a much longer period.
Teachers have been told to prepare “home-learning packs”, which must be ready by Friday.
Plans also include setting up teaching via online education platforms, to ensure pupils can work remotely.
One teacher told the newspaper: “We have had guidance from our head of the academy who has been told to expect at least a week-long closure, possibly two.
“If schools are closed from mid-March, it wouldn’t make sense to open them up again so close to Easter. We’re preparing for a month at home.
“The home-learning packs have to be all ready by this Friday, with the aim of sending them home with the kids the following Friday.”
Another teacher at a school in the north of England said they had been ordered to get emergency plans underway.
They said plans are being drawn up for children to be given lessons at home, with staff preparing teaching material in advance.
But such a move could prove problematic for students who do not have internet access at home.
With schools closed, officials are expected to initiate a deep clean of all buildings in order to eradicate all traces of the virus.
More than 326,000 people have signed a petition calling on the Government to close all schools in the UK to prevent the spread of coronavirus.
The petition, launched by Sami Attout, urges Mr Johnson to take a more “proactive” response to the outbreak.
It is not yet clear what the implications will be on GCSE and A-Level exams if schools are forced to close.
The first GCSE exam is due to be sat in less than two months time, on May 11.
Exam boards are currently working with the exam regulator Ofqual to plan “for a range of scenarios”.
They are understood to be looking at delaying exams and offering grading based on earlier papers for those unable to sit an exam.
Last month Professor Chris Whitty, the UK’s Chief Medical Officer warned schools could face closures for more than two months, if coronavirus was declared a pandemic.
Yesterday the World Health Organization confirmed the coronavirus outbreak has been labelled a pandemic.
WHO chief Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said the number of cases outside China had increased 13-fold in two weeks.
He said he was “deeply concerned” by “alarming levels of inaction”.
It comes as the UK confirmed more than 460 cases of the virus yesterday, with eight confirmed deaths.
In response, the Prime Minister will chair an emergency COBRA meeting at 1.15pm today.
As well as closing down schools, Mr Johnson is expected to advice offices to shut and ask employees to work from home.
The measures could also see large public events, such as the London Marathon, cancelled.
The delay phase aims to slow the spread of coronavirus and allow the NHS to adequately prepare.
It would provide a buffer to a possible vaccine to be developed, although one is not expected to come into use for at least another year.
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