The government has called on schools to suspend daily coronavirus testing of students and staff in England, five weeks after it was described as a “milestone” by education secretary Gavin Williamson.
Public Health England (PHE) said the balance of risks and potential benefits of daily testing was “unclear” following the emergence of the more portable variant of Covid-19.
Confirming the Defendant’s story from Tuesday that the release would be stopped, PHE said: “As a result of this changing situation, we are now proposing to suspend implement daily communication tests within schools, with the exception of schools involved in further assessment.
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“This will allow for a further assessment of changing conditions, including, possibly, lower disease rates and model work needed to understand the benefits of a daily communication test at the new level. this of the pandemic. ”
PHE said schools should continue to test staff twice a week where possible, and test pupils twice when they return to school, as has been the case since the beginning of the year. January.
The government later claimed that daily communication tests still had the potential to be a valuable tool in keeping pupils in school. “Testing is a vital part of our plan to control this virus, and we are constantly guided by expert advice on how best to structure the program,” said a spokesperson.
“NHS and Public Health England has been reviewed and tested by their NHS and tested, and decided that, despite the higher frequency and rates of spread of the new change, further evaluation work is needed to ensure it achieves the goal of breaking transmission chains and reducing outbreaks of the virus in the community.
“So we are stopping daily communication tests in all but a small number of secondary schools and colleges, where it has continued with a detailed assessment. ”
Geoff Barton, general secretary of the Association of Directors of Schools and Colleges, said leaders were “relieved” by the decision.
He said: “The use of these tests never made sense as they would not detect everyone with the disease, so we could have ended up with more infectious people at school. what they were under the system of self-isolation where close ties are sent home. We have been making this point to the government over and over again over the last few weeks.
“It is important to understand that this issue is about one particular use of these tests. We support the principle of their use for large-scale general tests of students and staff as this process should at least raise a proportion of asymptomatic cases and promote safety. Our direct concern about the idea of using them as an alternative was worse than the existing system of self-isolation for intimacy.
“Unfortunately, the government has been trying to use them in this way and then trying to make another policy reversal has caused great concern to parents, pupils and the general public. Schools will once again be left to build up the turmoil caused by the government. ”
Barton said mass testing was an important way to keep schools open but it was important for the government to provide clarity about the limitations of lateral flow tests, which give results in 30 minutes but did not detect many diseases. their experiments. .
He said: “They are helpful in detecting asymptomatic cases but are not definitive and it is vital that individuals follow normal safety procedures even if they have a negative result. ”