London council tells all schools to close over ‘extreme’ surge in Covid cases

A London council has told all schools in its area to close from Monday and switch to online learning following signs of “exponential growth” in coronavirus cases.

Cllr Danny Thorpe, leader of Greenwich Council, said the Covid-19 situation in the area was “escalating extremely quickly” and now demanded “immediate action”.

“We now have the highest rates of infection in Greenwich than at any time since March, and for these reasons I have therefore asked all schools in Greenwich to close their premises from Monday evening and move to online learning for the duration of the term, with the exception of key worker children and those with specific needs,” Mr Thorpe said in a statement.

The London borough has seen its rolling seven-day rate of new Covid-19 cases rise sharply in recent days, with 248.3 cases per 100,000 people recorded in the seven days to 9 December compared to 158 cases in the seven days to 2 December.