The mayor of London announced on Friday that the British government will close all primary schools in the entire capital for the next two weeks, amid rapid growth of new coronavirus infections.
The announcement comes after the UK education minister, Gavin Williamson said on Wednesday that the country would delay the reopening of secondary schools, while continuing to reopen most primary schools for children under the age of 11 next week, according to Reuters.
The move has drawn criticism from local leaders, as schools will reopen some of the areas around London where COVID-19 infection rates remain particularly high.
The Guardian reported that neighborhood leaders Haringey vowed to challenge the government in supporting any schools that chose to remain closed to keep students and staff safe.
In a letter to Williamson this week, local leaders in nine London authorities called for all primary schools to remain closed to all pupils except those in “vulnerable” groups or whose parents are key workers.
In response, the British government held an emergency cabinet meeting on Friday, voting to include other areas of the capital as part of the list of schools that would remain temporarily closed.
London Mayor Sadiq Khan announced the change on Twitter, writing, “The government has finally seen the meaning and changed.”
“This is the right decision – and I want to thank Education Minister Nick Gibb for our constructive talks over the last two days,” Khan said, referring to the British Minister for School Standards.
NEW: The government has finally seen meaning and transformation. All primary schools in London will be treated the same.
This is the right decision – and I want to thank Education Minister Nick Gibb for our constructive conversations over the past two days. https://t.co/D3u2eTIioW
– Sadiq Khan (@SadiqKhan) January 1, 2021
Mary Bousted, Joint Secretary General at The National Education Union also backed Friday’s decision, adding that all primary schools across the country should be closed, and the UK is fighting a new, more transmissible strain of COVID-19.
“What is right for London is right for the rest of the country,” she said, according to The Guardian. “It is time for the government to protect its citizens, and especially its children, by closing all primary schools for two weeks so that the situation can be properly assessed, schools have become much safer and their children and families protected.”
By Friday, more than 2.5 million people in the UK had been infected with COVID-19, with more than 74,000 deaths caused by the virus, according to data compiled by Johns Hopkins University.
This is because citizens across the country have already started receiving the Pfizer-BioNTech coronavirus vaccine and on Wednesday the UK health authorities approved the vaccine candidate from Oxford University and AstraZeneca for emergency use.
A third vaccine, produced by Dr. Moderna, is approved for emergency distribution in the United States, but has not yet been approved by the British health authorities.