Pupils won't be allowed to take a pencil cases to school when they return but CAN take a lunchbox because children are 'less likely to share them', says deputy chief medical officer

Pupils won't be allowed to take a pencil cases to school when they return but they can take a lunchbox because children are 'less likely to share them', the deputy chief medical officer has said.

Speaking at Saturday's Downing Street briefing, Dr Jenny Harries said that pencil cases were 'easier to control' than lunchboxes.

She added that schools could also provide clean pencil cases for children to minimise the risk of spreading the virus in the classroom.  

She said: 'I think the thing in a children's environment is there are certain things that you can control pretty well, which might include pencil cases and things that you use routinely during education.

'By doing that, schools can provide them and ensure that they are maintained clean.

'The issue about lunch boxes is, they're quite personal to the child eating the lunch, and I can almost guarantee that one child won't want to eat the lunch of the one sitting hopefully two metres distance from them.'

She added that hygiene was important for both lunchboxes and pencil cases, and stressed the need to encourage children to wash their hands before and after eating.

She also explained how social distancing can work in classrooms with young children.

Dr Harries said plans include having small groups 'where you increase the level of interaction a small amount, but it is contained'.

The Government expects children to be able to return to nurseries and childcare settings, and for reception, year one and year six pupils to be back in school, from June 1 at the earliest.

She said: 'Although it is recognised that small children will run around and interact, we expect them to, but you can still distance. I know this is the plan.'

She also suggested that desks could be placed appropriate distances apart from one another to prevent long periods of close contact.

Dr Harries added: 'A child rushing past another one in a normal area is probably not much of a risk.

'But if they were sitting directly opposite to each other in a very small space, close together for a long amount of time - that might be more of a risk.

'All of the interventions are designed to minimise those, while still allowing children to learn.' 

Dr Harries later said that recent data shows that while the infection rate is the same in children, they are less likely to get seriously ill or pass the virus on.

Schools will throw a 'protective bubble' around young pupils, Gavin Williamson (pictured) vowed today as he attempted to outflank furious teaching unions and reopen classrooms next month

She said: 'We think children probably have the same level of infections, we're just coming through that data now with the ONS survey, but they definitely don't get as ill.

'We very rarely see children in hospital in proportion to the older population.

'For younger children as well, evidence is still growing but there may be some evidence there that they are less likely to pass it on.'

Dr Harries later added that younger children returning to school do not have some of the risks expected with older children.

She said: 'If you pull back a whole load of older children, they tend to get on buses, travel longer distances, have different social interactions, and some of those social interactions are actually far more significant in moving the R-value than just going back to school.' 

Britain recorded another 468 coronavirus deaths today, taking the UK's official total of fatalities to 34,466

Schools will throw a 'protective bubble' around young pupils, Gavin Williamson vowed today as he attempted to outflank furious teaching unions and reopen classrooms next month.

The Education Secretary attempted to pile pressure on opponents of his plans tonight  as he warned of the dire 'consequences if children did not start returning to school.

He made a blunt appeal to the emotions of parents tonight as he insisted planning can begin to reopen classrooms from in little more than a fortnight.

Outlining his plans for reception, year 1 and 6 - as well as years 10 and 12 - to return from June 1, he insisted 'they stand to lose more by staying away from school'.

He revealed that those who return, as well as their parents, will join teachers in being eligible for free coronavirus tests, as he outlined measures schools will take avoid a surge in the killer disease.