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Scrapping ‘bubbles’ and isolation won’t stop Covid – it will merely result in more children being infected

Editorial: Sajid Javid is growing worryingly zealous in his drive to end lockdown on 19 July, and with it the bubble-and-isolate protocols in schools – the virus may have other ideas

Tuesday 29 June 2021 22:35 BST
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There is a problem in Britain’s schools: too many children are having to be sent home to self-isolate because they are in a large bubble and one pupil has come into contact with someone who has Covid. Anecdotal evidence suggests that such forced absences are more widespread than they were even in previous waves of the pandemic.

The obvious effects of unexpected bubble closures are on the running of the school and the education of the children. Even planning to catch up on lost lessons becomes forbiddingly complex. Children being at home also places an additional burden on parents, causing special problems for those who have to leave home to work. It all adds to the stress and distress experienced by families – and it is becoming chaotic.

Hence the hyperactive Sajid Javid asking for action from the Department of Education, though that isn’t actually his fiefdom. Mr Javid is growing worryingly zealous in his drive to end lockdown on 19 July, and ending the bubble-and-isolate protocols in schools is all part of his vaulting ambition to make his mark in history and be the man who, to coin a phrase, “gets Covid done”. The virus may have other ideas.

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