Classroom mask rule to be scrapped from today

As part of new Coronavirus guidelines, the government has said it will lift its recommendation that masks be worn in secondary classrooms from today (20 January).

Rules to wear face coverings in indoor communal areas will no longer apply from Thursday next week (27th January).

However unions have warned schools are still suffering huge disruption, with one in ten primary pupils having Covid last week.

The recommendation for masks in classrooms was brought back in early January, while masks have been recommended in communal areas since late November.

Measures requiring self-isolation for those who test positive will remain in place for now.

A DfE blog says: "This decision comes in response to national infection data showing the prevalence of COVID-19 is on a downward trajectory."

The blog continues to say that local directors of public health are able to recommend the use of face coverings in communal areas - across their area only - where DfE and public health experts judge the measure to be proportionate due to specific health concerns.

Directors of public health will also continue to advise individual settings experiencing outbreaks. Any local introduction of face coverings will be subject to routine review and removed at the earliest opportunity.