Northamptonshire parents urged to take responsibility of their children over Easter Holidays to stop increase in Covid cases

"We will end up with children having to isolate, more education being missed - and it's not good for our children, we really need to get them back on track."
Parents have been urged to take responsibility of their children over EasterParents have been urged to take responsibility of their children over Easter
Parents have been urged to take responsibility of their children over Easter

Parents in Northamptonshire have been urged to "take responsibility" of their children over the Easter Holidays in a bid to prevent the spread of Covid-19.

Northamptonshire County Council's education lead, Paul Andrews, said in the weekly Covid press conference hosted by Director of Public Health Northamptonshire, Lucy Wightman, that adults should start getting tested twice a week and make sure their children can return to school when the holidays are over.

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Mr Andrews said: "If we don't stick to the rules over the holiday period, if we don't stop sleepovers, if we don't stop our children playing together when they perhaps shouldn't, even though that's tempting, when children go back to school more infection will come into school and we will end up with children having to isolate, more education being missed - and it's not good for our children. We really need to get them back on track.

"School's have worked incredibly hard to stay Covid secure and I think my plea would be to parents and childcare bubbles, especially as things open a bit, to carry on that work and to get yourselves tested.

"We can't test younger children with lateral flow tests, it's not a good thing for them to have to undergo. So the best way we can find out whether or not there's an infection running through childcare bubbles, families, and households is for the adults within that household to take responsibility and get tested."

Mr Andrews said it is "much simpler" to get tested now than ever before.

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He said: "Take that responsibility away from your children and get tested twice a week. As an adult it's not painful, not difficult, but as a child it's not that pleasant.

"As we move into the period post March 29, really consider what you can do to enable your child to stay at school after the Easter Holiday."

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Mr Andrews went on to praise those who have been working in the education industry, providing testing and also "high-quality" teaching.

He said: "Education centres have worked, and will continue to work, incredibly hard to stay Covid secure and implement testing. And all of that is at the same time they have been delivering high-quality education to our children.

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"I think as a county we owe our education centres and their staff, from nurseries to childminders all the way through to colleges, a huge thanks for their efforts so far this year. It's been an incredible effort."