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Pupils In Thailand Study Behind Screens To Fight Spread Of Coronavirus

Pupils In Thailand Study Behind Screens To Fight Spread Of Coronavirus

It is one of a number of measures designed to stop the virus spreading

Jake Massey

Jake Massey

Pupils in Thailand are being made to study behind screens to help fight the spread of coronavirus.

Wat Khlong Toey School in Bangkok welcomed back its 250 students earlier this month after it was forced to close in mid-March. However, the school is quite different for pupils now.

As well as installing screens around desks, the school has also boxed off play areas and marked out socially distanced markers for pupils to stand on. There is also a temperature scanner at the entrance to the school and soap dispensers outside each classroom.

Thailand has a relatively low coronavirus death toll of 58 people with 3,351 cases in total.

PA

PA

Meanwhile, UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson has said it is a 'moral duty' to get all students back to school in England next month.

In an article for the Mail on Sunday, he wrote: "Time spent out of class means lower average academic attainment, with a lasting effect on future life chances.

"The less children are in school, the worse it is for their health. Sport England report one in three children has done less physical activity in lockdown, with many suffering from poorer mental health, including through reduced access to vital support.

"Most painfully of all, the costs of school closure have fallen disproportionately on the most disadvantaged, the very children who need school the most.

"Keeping our schools closed a moment longer than absolutely necessary is socially intolerable, economically unsustainable and morally indefensible."

PA

He added: "This pandemic isn't over, and the last thing any of us can afford to do is become complacent.

"But now that we know enough to reopen schools to all pupils safely, we have a moral duty to do so."

A scientist from the Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies (Sage) has previously warned that pubs may have to close in order for schools to open and the BBC reports that it is understood schools will be the last to close should lockdown measures be tightened.

The Director General of the World Health Organization Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus has reiterated that schools should only open when it is safe for them to do so.

He said: "We all want to see schools safely reopened but we also need to ensure that students, staff and faculty are safe. The foundation for this is adequate control of transmission at the community.

"My message is crystal clear: suppress, suppress, suppress the virus."

Featured Image Credit: PA

Topics: World News, Coronavirus, Thailand