Reopening schools without strict COVID-19 mitigation measures risks accelerating the pandemic

On 22nd February, the UK government announced schools in England would fully reopen on the 8th March 2021. While returning to school as soon as possible is imperative for the education, social development, and mental and physical welfare of children, not enough has been done to make schools safer for students and staff. Multi-layered mitigations can substantially reduce the risk of transmission within schools and into households. In the Appendix we outline a set of recommendations, in line with CDC guidelines and practiced in many countries, to reduce the risk of transmission in schools and mitigate the impact of COVID-19 on children and families. Making schools safer goes hand in hand with reducing community transmission, and is essential to allow schools to safely reopen and remain open.