British Prime Minister Boris Johnson has said schools were safe, and advised parents to send their children back to school in areas where rules allow it

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson has said schools were safe, and advised parents to send their children back to school in areas where rules allow it, responding to concerns about the surge in Covid-19 cases as classes are due to restart after Christmas.
“There is no doubt in my mind that schools are safe, and that education is a priority,” he told the BBC’s Andrew Marr programme.
He said the government might need to consider tightening lockdown restrictions, but declined to give examples of what that might look like
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Mr Johnson said: “We have really fought very hard throughout this pandemic across the country to keep schools open for lots of reasons.
“Schools are safe. It is very, very important to stress that.
“The risk to kids, to young people is really very, very small indeed.
“The risk to staff is very small.
“I would advise all parents thinking about want to do, look at where your area is, overwhelmingly you’ll be in a part of the country where primary schools tomorrow will be open.”
The Prime Minister said he understands the anxieties around the reopening of schools.
Asked if he would take legal action against councils which have decided not to reopen primary schools, Mr Johnson said: “We’ll work very hard with authorities across the country to get our message across that we think schools are safe; that schools are safe, there’s absolutely no doubt about it.
“I understand people’s frustrations, I understand people’s anxieties but there is no doubt in my mind that schools are safe and that education is a priority.
“And if you think about the history of the pandemic, we’ve kept schools going for a long, long time in areas where the pandemic has really been at really high levels.”
Mr Johnson added: “We will keep this under constant review but we will be driven by public health considerations and by the massive importance of education.” 
Meanwhile, Stormont First Minister Arlene Foster said she was concerned about the life chances of young people during the pandemic.
Speaking on the same programme, she said: “We will do all that we can to keep pupils in school.
“We do recognise that with this new mutant version of Covid-19 there are difficulties and it transmits among younger people, and we have to take that into consideration.
“I certainly don’t want to be in a position of keeping our young people at home.
“It is important that we get young people into schools again, but we have to have remote learning for a short period of time and I hope it is a short period of time.” 
Additional reporting Reuters