Liverpool mayor Joe Anderson has proposed shutting schools for two weeks as part of an attempt to stem escalating coronavirus cases in the city.
Mayor Anderson told Radio Merseyside's Paul Salt this evening that he was looking at extending the half term, which is normally only a week, to two weeks in an attempt to bring the virus under control.
It comes on the first day of Tier 3 restrictions for our region.
Bars, pubs, gyms and betting shops are among the businesses that have been forced to close as a result of the new rules.
Mayor Anderson said schools were also accounting for a significant chunk of transmission and said he had discussed the potential for an extended half term with officers to tackle rising case numbers in the city.
Asked whether a two week half term was being considered, Mayor Anderson said: “It is something I am looking at, yes. It something I have had discussions about with my director of education both yesterday evening and this morning so I am looking at that.
“I know that that can cause disruption to parents but at the same time our teaching staff are under huge pressure. We have got thousands of people in the teaching profession who are isolating at the moment as well as pupils.”
Mayor Anderson said between a quarter and a third of all students in the city were now isolating due to positive coronavirus cases in their year group bubbles.
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He said an extended closure of schools could help bring the virus under control and said he would look to work with the leaders of other boroughs in the region if those plans were to move ahead.
Liverpool's coronavirus cases have continued their steep rise today. The city now has one of the highest case rates in Europe and its intensive care wards are nearing capacity as Covid patients account for an ever larger proportion of patients.
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