Dozens of secondary schools in England have reintroduced mask requirements in the classroom, despite government guidance dropping the rule in May. Other schools in the north-west, including in Blackburn with Darwen, Bolton and Bury, had already asked students to keep their masks on last month. Sir David King, a former government chief scientific adviser and the chair of Independent Sage, has called on the government to reintroduce mandatory face coverings in all secondary schools. Louise Jackson, Bedford council’s health lead, said all secondary schools in the borough had been advised to reinstate mask-wearing following outbreaks linked to the variant. King told Sky News on Monday that relaxing government guidance related to masks in schools was not “a wise thing to do”.

Source: The Guardian June 07, 2021 16:30 UTC