U.K.'s Boris Johnson faces schools rebellion over plans to send kids back
"There is no such thing as social distancing in a school — it does not exist and would never exist," one principal wrote in an open letter to parents.
May 28, 2020
As many as 1,500 schools in England may disobey the government: That's the number covered by the 18 city and regional councils saying they are willing to defy any such order unless there is further assurance that teachers, parents and kids aren't at unnecessary risk from COVID-19.
There are around 24,000 schools and 343 councils in England.
For many Brits, trust in the government declined further last weekend when
Johnson resisted mounting pressure to fire his top adviser, Dominic Cummings. It emerged that Cummings had driven 260 miles to a second family home at the height of the lockdown — while his wife was sick with coronavirus symptoms.
The revelation provoked fury in the United Kingdom, which has the second-highest death toll in the world, with at least 47,000 recorded deaths involving COVID-19.
Johnson has been accused of failing to introduce social distancing measures as soon as he should have, not stocking enough personal protective equipment for health workers, needlessly exposing nursing homes to the virus and bungling his testing strategy.
"There is no such thing as social distancing in a school — it does not exist and would never exist," one principal wrote in an open letter to parents.
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