COVID cases rise as schools re-open

On the 4th of September 2020, Barnsley saw a staggering spike of coronavirus cases into the thousands, after a period where the numbers seemed to be lowering. 

Since the schools have reopened this September, many local primary schools have already been forced to close and require their students to quarantine. Not only is this having an impact on the students’ education but it has also shown a rise in the number of cases. Throughout August when young people were not in schools and colleges, the number of cases seemed to be looking promising that they were going to be staying down. 

“I feel as if no one really knows what is going to happen”

With all of the safety precautions that were put in place by the government for the reopening of schools there was no doubt that there was going to be a rise in the number of cases, but was sending students back to school a good idea?

Speaking to Michelle, an additional learner support at Barnsley College gave us more of an insight about how members of staff in colleges and schools are dealing with the reopening. 

“I feel split down the middle, on a professional stance I feel that students should be going back into colleges and schools as they have already missed out on 6 months’ worth of learning. Enough safety precautions have been put in place to help keep students safe so I feel as long as people stick to the rules it is for the best. However, on a personal level I feel like no one really knows what is going to happen and they are making it up as they go along. If students were to stay at home then the numbers would be a lot lower however the government have to make a difficult decision with the students’ best interest at heart.”

With the situation that we have found ourselves in, we all need to be following government guidelines and making sure that we are all doing our best to keep ourselves and the people around us safe.