School children infected with coronavirus could bring the virus home to their family, England’s deputy chief medical officer has warned.
Professor Jonathan Van-Tam said it is unclear whether teachers catch Covid-19 from each other or from children, pointing out that they could also catch it outside school.
He also said there is not a “markedly increased rate of infection or mortality” from the virus among teachers.
Prof Van-Tam told the Downing Street press conference that children “very rarely” got ill with Covid-19 and it is “predominantly” older teenagers who transmit the virus.
“Do teachers get Covid-19? Yes.
“Is it clear that teachers get Covid-19 from children or from each other? No, it is not clear. They could also pick it up in their own lives outside of school,” he said.
Prof Van-Tam added: “Is there a clear signal in the data of a markedly increased rate of infection or mortality in teachers? No.
“But could infected children introduce the infection back in their own households and therefore contribute to R? Absolutely yes.”
