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Rees: ‘Schools and hospitality key priorities when lockdown eases’
Marvin Rees has said schools must be a priority when Covid restrictions ease as he called for an evidence-based approach to lifting lockdown.
Bristol’s mayor highlighted not only the impact of classroom closures on current pupils but the “invisible price” being paid by those who have left education in the midst of the pandemic without the pastoral support to help them transition into the workplace.
He also spoke of the need to support the “unlocking of the hospitality sector” but warned we must avoid “yo-yoing in and out of lockdown”.
is needed now More than ever
The Prime Minister is due to address the nation on Monday, February 22 to reveal the government’s “roadmap out of lockdown”.
Speaking during a press briefing on Wednesday, Rees said “I think what’s shown itself as a huge priority is schools and the education system. To me, that has such urgency around it because of the impact on education and the impact on mental health.
“I think there is an invisible price being paid by those students who, because of their age, have left school; there is going to be no educational catch up for them but they have not had the pastoral support to take them through the transition from education into the workplace – the legacy of that will be with us for many years.”
He continued: “Then I would really like to see us taking all efforts to support the hospitality sector to open up. The sheer number of jobs tied up in that sector makes it essential.
“We just need the evidence to show us that it’s safe to do so. What we want to avoid is yo-yoing in and out of lockdown.
“We need as much certainty as we can get at the moment, and that’s both for the practical challenges facing businesses and households, also for the emotional challenges facing people as they navigate Covid.”
The mayor confirmed the number of Covid cases in Bristol is falling, with 163 new cases per 100,000 of the population in the last week – down from 311 in early January and against an England average of 148 per 100,000.
More than 33,500 tests have been carried out since the surge testing programme launched on Sunday, February 7. Residents in the applicable postcodes have until Sunday, February 21 to get tested.
Rees urged people to return their home testing kits, as more than 10,000 picked up from collect and drop sites in the surge testing postcodes are yet to be dropped off.
Main photo by Zoe Trinder-Widdess
Read more: Libraries to act as hubs for ‘collect and drop’ Covid tests
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