by Cristina Odone, CSJ Head of Family
When their headteacher banned playing in the snow in their primary school playground, my daughter’s classmates emailed Boris Johnson, then Mayor of London. Please could he reverse this ban, that so cruelly quashed their games? Boris replied instantly: he so wished he could satisfy the children’s request – he agreed that playing in the snow was capital fun – but the matter was out of his hands.
Today Boris Johnson is Prime Minister and my daughter is in secondary school. If her schoolmates were to petition him now, it would be to let schools open, instead of postponing re-entry until February. I fear that his reply from Downing Street would echo the one from City Hall.
As the pestilential virus mutates into a more infectious version, further restrictions are inevitable. Everyone wants to prevent unnecessary Covid deaths before the vaccine is rolled out. But as the Government issues regulations for a new lockdown, it needs to formulate a strategy that better prioritises our children.
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