Boris Johnson has said he wants schools to reopen as normal in January - but hasn't ruled out them remaining closed after Christmas saying it was dependent on the spread of the virus.
Speaking at a press conference on Monday the Prime Minister said the measures were being kept 'under constant review'.
Asked if the emergence of the new coronavirus mutation meant he could 'really guarantee schools will be back on the start dates they now have?' Mr Johnson replied: "We want, if we possibly can, to get schools back in a staggered way at the beginning of January in the way that we have set out.
"But the common sense thing to do is to follow the path of the epidemic and to keep things under constant review.
"But it is very, very important to get kids and keep kids in education, if you possibly can.
"I believe that's something that everybody understands."
Sir Patrick Vallance, the Government's chief scientific advisor, added: "The doubling time of this infection, with the variant, is quite fast. It's more transmissible, it does require more action in order to keep it down and that's why tier 4 iimportant.
"What we did see in areas that had lower restrictions you could still see growth in some places.
"So it is the case that the measures needed to try to make sure we reduce contact, to make sure we don't give the virus the chance to spread, are even more important with the new virus.
"It's got to be taken incredibly seriously.
"Not because the virus itself is a more severe illness, but just because it spreads more rapidly."
