British Medical Association backs school union concerns

The British Medical Association (BMA) has said that they back teaching union NEU in their concerns over schools reopening.

A letter sent by the BMA to the NEU said that they had considered the scientific evidence available on the reopening of schools and has found it to be "thus far conflicting, which is perhaps unsurprising given the relatively small amount of research available and the unchartered territory we find ourselves in".

It quoted that research from New South Wales suggested children were less susceptible to serious illness from Covid-19 but more likely to develop asymptomatic infections, but that a recent paper from Berlin had shown children were just as likely to be infected as adults and may be just as infectious.

The letter said that it was therefore the view of the members of the PHMC (Public health medicine committee) to be aligned with the NEU, saying that "until we have got case numbers much lower, we should not consider reopening schools."

"The NEU is absolutely right to urge caution, to prioritise testing and to protect the vulnerable. We cannot risk a second spike or take actions which would increase the spread of this virus, particularly as we see sustained rates of infection across the UK."