The new health secretary has said he hopes to “say more” on the potential to use Covid testing in schools to prevent whole class bubbles from being told to isolate.
Sajid Javid, who was appointed to the role following Matt Hancock’s resignation, confirmed that he had asked for “fresh advice” on the policy.
Former junior health minister Steve Brine, the Conservative MP for Winchester, told the new secretary of state in the Commons that he hoped to see a change of policy on the use of Covid testing in schools.
Related: Rethink school Covid bubble rules, says SAGE expert
Covid: Will schools still need to have bubbles in September?
Comment: Four reasons why we should keep year-group bubbles post-Covid
“Estimates suggest that a quarter of a million children are missing school today due to precautionary isolations, the vast majority sequential due to the bubbles they are caught in,” he said.
Covid and schools: Call to stop bubble group isolation
“Ten days of isolation are then unavoidable under the current rules, even with a negative [PCR] test.
“Haven’t our young people suffered enough? Are we really going to continue to do this to ourselves? Is this not an area, given the availability and reliability of testing now, where we might find that change of policy I’m looking for?”
Mr Javid replied: “This is a very important issue and it is something I’ve focused on, on day one of the job.
“That is why I’ve asked for fresh advice on this. As he knows, the decision was made with the data that was available at the time.
“Clearly data is changing all the time and we must make sure that we keep that under review for exactly the right reasons that he has set out and, as I say, I have asked for advice on this and I will hopefully be able to say more on this as soon as possible.”
Referring to self-isolation policies in relation to schools, Mr Javid also spoke of ”the impact that is having in terms of their education, mental health and in so many of the detrimental ways”.
He added: “I want to see if there’s anything more that we can do, any more flexibilities. I am aware that there is a pilot programme in place at the moment that certain local authorities are using where tests can be used in lieu of isolation. But I want to see if we can go further.”
