the times | Friday March 6 2020 2GM 11News
A British head teacher in Hong Kong is
advising private schools in the UK on
how to cope if they are forced to close.
Kellett School is closed but teachers
are still coming on site to transmit les-
sons to its international co-educational
pupils via conference calls.
Mark Steed, the principal and former
head of Berkhamsted School in Hert-
fordshire, is giving advice on how to
teach pupils working from home. The
digital strategy group of the Independ-
ent Schools Council, which representsHead teacher gives lesson in home work
We did Monday, Wednesday, Friday. It
was the right decision because other
schools have found that it is very diffi-
cult for teachers to sustain prolonged
teaching from home without the
support... of colleagues.”
Mr Steed recommended setting up
virtual circle times, with software that
allows younger children to touch the
screen as if it were a whiteboard in the
classroom.
British schools are already putting
contingency plans in place. Brighton
College is holding a training day for
teachers next week to prepare for any
instructions to close.most private schools, has published
advice from Mr Steed’s experience.
The study came as Chris Whitty, the
chief medical officer for England, said
schools should close only in exception-
al circumstances. Professor Whitty told
the Commons health committee: “We
want schools to close only when they
need to.”
In his advice from Hong Kong, Mr
Steed suggests that schools ask teach-
ers to come in three days a week, rather
than trying to teach from home. “Home
learning is tough,” he says. “One key
factor is whether schools get teachers
into school during the period of closure.Nicola Woolcock
Education Correspondentfor looting and panic
a protocol last engaged after the Man-
chester bombing would be used to
allow soldiers to take over policing at
nuclear power plants and military sites.
The move ensures police forces can
maintain a minimum staffing level for
armed officers to attend serious crimes,
whether linked to the virus or not.
Senior officers are expecting to have
to cancel rest days. They have made
clear that they are not anticipating that
an epidemic will prompt widespread
disorder or criminality, but have put in
place plans for every eventuality.
It is understood that there is monitor-
ing of panic buying in place and that ba-by food and toilet paper shortages had
been reported in some areas.
As of yesterday, emergency powers
granted to police to compel patients into
quarantine or self-isolation had not
been used.
Police in Northern Ireland may have
to take 12-hour shifts and cancel rest
days, the chief constable said yesterday.
Deputy Chief Constable Paul Nether-
ton, the National Police Chiefs’ Council
lead for civil contingencies, said last
night: “While we plan for the worst-case
scenario, that doesn’t mean we expect it
and police forces will aim to maintain
business as usual as far as possible.”News
mask and sanitiser profiteering
MANUEL SILVESTRI/REUTERS; ABDEL GHANI BASHIR/AFP/ GETTY IMAGESpossibility is that it becomes seasonal,
like influenza.unreported and how many people are
asymptomatic — infected but never
showing symptoms.- How many cases
are there in the UK? - How does it
spread?
Like other respiratory infections the
disease is transferred by mucus,
spread in droplets through contact
with other people or through coughs
and sneezes. Doctors can’t rule out
the possibility that the virus can
spread through food prepared by
infected people but say it is unlikely to
be a significant source of infection.- How long does it
last?
- Where is it?
There have been confirmed cases in
72 countries, and on a cruise ship. Ten
countries outside China — as well as
the ship — have reported deaths.
Britain has reported one death.- Is it worse than flu?
Seasonal influenza has a fatality rate
of about 0.1 per cent, but there are
strains such as H5N1, avian flu, that
scientists worry could go pandemic
and have death rates of about 60 per
cent. The new coronavirus has a
significantly higher death rate than
seasonal flu, but is currently nowhere
near as widespread.- How many people
die from the flu?
Each year between 200,000 and
600,000 people die from flu.
Pandemic strains periodically kill
many times more. Spanish flu in
1918-19 killed as many as 50 million.
Two other flu outbreaks in the
20th century killed more than a
million people each. H1N1, the 2009
swine flu outbreak, may have killed
half a million people globally.11.How many people
have coronavirus?
Around 95,000 people are reported to
have been infected but the figure may
be far higher. A crucial question for
epidemiologists to answer is how
Those with a mild response to many people have mild cases that go- Is it man made?
No. Within days of the outbreak being
announced researchers had its full
genetic code. There is nothing in that
string of 30,000 letters, which contain
all the information about its history
and spread, that indicated its origin
was anything other than natural.- When will it end?
It is just conceivable that spring in the
northern hemisphere will change the
conditions so that the virus is no
longer able to spread. It is also
possible it will need to infect a
significant proportion of the world
before it burns itself out. A third- Is there a vaccine?
Not yet. Teams around the world are
working on producing one — at
unprecedented speed — but the
soonest one could become available
is early next year, which would be a
towering achievement. - How deadly is it?
Estimates for fatality rates range from
2 to 3 per cent. Given many cases may
not have been picked up, the figure
could be less than 1 per cent. Much of
the data is from Wuhan, where health
services were stretched, residents had
high smoking rates and the air quality
is poor. For healthy people under 50
there is little to be concerned about.
The severity rises for the elderly.The usually bustling cafés of St Mark’s Square in Venice were deserted yesterday as tourists stayed away. In Saudi Arabia, Mecca’s Great Mosque, the largest in the world, was closed for sterilisationinfection can recover in a matter of
days. Those who progress to
pneumonia will take weeks.The present confirmed total is 115.