AN SNP councillor has called for schools to move to online learning until Easter to help suppress the spread of the coronavirus.
The SNP’s Chris McEleny has said the UK Government should consider a new furlough type scheme that would give money to employers in order that parents can take the time off on annual leave so that their children can stay at home for the next three months.
Daily positive cases of the virus are now at a record high, and with a combination of household mixing over Christmas and seasonal factors, spread of the virus is expected to continue to grow.
The calls come as fears continue to be expressed that the new Covid-19 variant is growing rapidly, is more transmissible than other variants, and is affecting a greater proportion of under 20s.
On Friday, it was confirmed that 42.8% of Scotland’s cases are the new variant of Covid-19, a sharp rise from just 6% at the end of November. The new strain is thought to be up to 70% more transmissible than the original strain of coronavirus. New research from imperial college London shows that individuals under 20 years old make up a higher proportion of the new Variant of Concern (VOC) than the non Variant of Concern.
There is a consensus amongst all analysis that the new variant of Covid-19 has a substantially higher transmission rate compared to the previously dominant strain of the virus in the UK , with the estimated difference in reproduction numbers between VOC and non-VOC ranging between 0.4 and 0.7, and the ratio of reproduction numbers varying between 1.4 and 1.8. These higher infection levels took place despite higher levels of social distancing being in place.
With spread of the new variant not slowing down, McEleny believes that it will be vital to close schools to stop the spread of the virus growing further out of control and the NHS becoming overwhelmed.
However, if schools move to online learning, McEleny, whose Inverclyde area has been one of the hardest hit during Covid, says that there must be a “huge intervention by Government” so that parents can have paid time at home with their children to support home learning and care for them.
He believes there has to be recognition from the First Minister, Economy Secretary Fiona Hyslop and Finance Secretary Kate Forbes that most employers, even sympathetic ones, don’t have the ability to support parents while schools are closed, and that simultaneous work and childcare is untenable for children and parents.
McEleny said: “If the aim is to stop the virus spreading, a reality has to be recognised – workers who are trying to simultaneously work and provide their children with due care, nurture and attention will inevitably have to use grandparents to help.
“This defeats the point of closing schools and will further spread the virus. Paying parents to stay at home without the pressure of work would be better for everyone.”
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