December 10, 2020

expert reaction to Matt Hancock’s announcement of mass testing in secondary schools in worst affected parts of London, Essex and Kent

Matt Hancock announced at a 10 Downing Street Press conference that mass coronavirus testing is to start immediately for secondary school pupils in worst affected parts of London, Essex and Kent.

Prof Paul Hunter, Professor in Medicine, The Norwich School of Medicine, University of East Anglia, said:

“Matt Hancock’s announcement has followed the recent surge in cases of infection in London  and the South East. In London, at least the main driver of this surge has been an increase in cases in the 10 to 14 and 15 to 19 year age groups, i.e. secondary school aged children. Cases in these age groups in London continued to increase throughout the National Lockdown suggesting either spread in schools or during after school socialising. The main concern is that if the epidemic increases in this age group, there is a very real risk that infections would then spread into older age groups and indeed recent data suggests this may have started to happen.

“Whilst closing secondary schools would almost certainly reduce this transmission, many would argue that our number one priority is to continue our children’s education. If we closed all secondary schools now then we may struggle to reopen them for some time. In this context the proposal to implement mass testing in secondary schools in areas with higher transmission makes sense. Indeed it is not clear to me what else could be done to try and control this part of the epidemic short of closing schools.  But any form of mass testing will not achieve its objectives unless properly targeted and those found to be positive managed and supported to self-isolate in a way that minimises any damage to their education.”

Prof Sheila Bird, Formerly Programme Leader, MRC Biostatistics Unit, University of Cambridge, said:

“Liverpool had to perform its own in-context evaluation of asymptomatic screening for its citizens by comparing contemporaneous results from INNOVA rapid-test versus RT-PCR.

“Let us hope, indeed require, that a similarly powerful in-context evaluation of asymptomatic screening for school-children has been designed: whether using INNOVA or other rapid-test.”

https://www.gov.uk/government/speeches/health-and-social-care-secretarys-statement-on-coronavirus-covid-19-10-december-2020

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