Image: Chris McAndrew [CC BY 3.0], via Wikimedia Commons
Health secretary says no plan to shut institutions ‘at this stage’
Health secretary Matt Hancock has said that shutting the UK’s universities now “would not have a clinical benefit”, as the country battles the coronavirus outbreak and other nations ban teaching at their institutions.
Hancock (pictured) was speaking at the annual conference of the British Chambers of Commerce in London on 5 March, following speculation that educational institutions may have to close in order to stem the spread of Covid-19.
“The scientific evidence is that we may not be able to contain this virus forever, especially if the number of cases continues to rise in Europe,” Hancock said. “[But] going too far too fast carries risks of its own.”
He said that the containment effort was “working to a timetable that is set by the progress of the virus itself”.
Europe’s worst-affected country is Italy, where the government has shut down face-to-face teaching in all universities and schools until the middle of the month.
But Hancock said, “With 85 confirmed positive cases in the UK, shutting down all our schools and universities, for example, would not have a clinical benefit at this stage—but it would impose social and economic costs. So we will follow the science.”
Since his speech the number of diagnosed cases in the UK has increased to 90.