The mayor of London Sadiq Khan has called for secondary schools and colleges to all close early ahead of the Christmas holidays.
Mr Khans calls for the move comes after schools in Greenwich become the first in England to move to fully online learning from Tuesday.
The Department for Education said it remained a national priority to keep schools open full time.
Schools who have said they would like to move learning online have been reminded that HM’s government has the legal power to require them to stay open.
A spokesman for the Department for Education said it was “vital” that children remain in school until the end of the term.
Mayor of London @SadiqKhan says “it is possible” it could be announced today that London will be put into Tier 3 and if the government does change “the rules, we’ve got follow the rules”.
Get live #coronavirus updates: https://t.co/4JGYN3Pf3k pic.twitter.com/jpcgdRggZW
— Sky News (@SkyNews) December 14, 2020
In the letter, also sent to the Prime Minister, Mr Khan said he wanted to see regular asymptomatic testing to be extended to everyone who could not work from home as well as students and staff at London’s secondary schools, sixth-form college and further education colleges.
The Mayor has also called for face coverings to be made mandatory in busy outdoor public spaces, he wrote: “Face coverings should also be made mandatory in busy outdoor public spaces, given the numbers on our high streets in the run-up to Christmas.”
Mr Khan said: “The surge in coronavirus cases across our capital is deeply concerning.
The mayor said if London went into further restrictions, the current financial support offered by the government would be “insufficient to keep many businesses and the self-employed afloat”.
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