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The Week Junior• 28 March 2020

This week’s big news

2

T

he UK hasfollowed othercountries around the

worldbyintroducingnew rulestot ackle the

Covid-19outbreak. Schools have closed and people

have been told to stay at home unlessthey absolutely

haveto gooutside.Covid-19isadiseas ecaused by a

newtype ofcoronaviruscalled SARS-CoV-2,

whichcausesrespiratory infections

(infectionsinthe nose, throat and

lungs, includingcolds andflu).

Whyhaveschools closed

across the UK?

Schoolshavebeen shut

to helpslow thespreadof

the outbreak. On 18 March,

leading politiciansacross theUK

confirmed that all schools would

close after classesfinishedon

20 M arch. PrimeMinister Boris Johnson

saidscientistshad told him that shutting

schools would helpcontroland slow thecoronavirus.

If fewer peoplecatch the virusatt he sametime, it

will beeasier for the National Health Service (NHS) to

helppeople who have moreserious symptoms.

Is everyone studying at home?

Althoughthe vast majority of pupils in the UK are

now studying from home,some arestillexpectedto

go to school, including the children ofkeyworkers.

Keyworkers include doctorsand nurses,food-

delivery drivers, policeofficer sand

teachers. Other pupils,suchas

those with special needswho

get additional supportfrom

teachers,are also expected

to continue at school.

Schools mayremain closed

untilthe end of the summer

holidays. Asaresult, all

examshave beencancelled.

What otherrules have

beenintroduced?

On 20 March, Johnson saidbars, cafés

and restaurants in the UK needed to close

too.The Governmenthas said it will pay 80% of the

wagesofanyon ewho cannot do their jobasaresult

of the outbreak. On 24 March,Johnson announced

further new rules. He saidpeople arenow banned

from gathering in public in groups of morethantwo

unless they live together.People shouldonlyleave

their homes for traveltog et to essential jobs,shopfor

essential items, getmedical attention, helpsomeone

who can’tgoout, or onceaday toexercise.

What hasbeen going on in othercountries?

Manycountries across Europe had alreadyordered

the closureofcafés,restaurants and schools before

the UK announcedits own plans. As of 20 March,

124 countries around the world have closed all their

schools, affecting morethan 1.25 billion students

–ofwhicharound 15.4million areint he UK. Some

countries in Asia,wherethe outbreak began, arenow

consideringreopeningtheir schools after about a

month of closures. Classeshavealready started again

in some parts of Chinaand Taiwan, and the Japanese

governmentcould order schools theretoopen again

from April. Meanwhile, large events, including the

Eurovision SongContest, have been postponed

because of the outbreak. The primeministerofJ apan,

ShinzoAbe, has said that the Olympic Games–which

weregoingtot akeplaceinT okyothis summer–will

be postponeduntil next year.

UKgoesintolockdownto

helpslowcoro navirusspread

Homeschooler AnnaDusseau

shares her top tips:

CREATEATIMETABLE

It will help youcover all your

school subjects.

BE REALISTICDon’texhaust

yourself.Somehomeschoolers

canpackaday intoafew hours.

GET DRESSEDIt will helpyou

feel focused.

EATRIGHTEggs and oily fish

canboostyour brain function.

LIMIT SCREEN TIMEThe

computer is usefulforstudying,

but playing FIFAandwatching

catmemesare forfreetime.

Howtostudy at home

D

DIDYOU

KNO

W?

In^201 9, it

wasrev

ealed

that betw

een60,

000

and80,

00 children

arehomeschooled

in England.

Young people are

studying at home.

Schools have

closed in the UK.