Thousands of Hertfordshire residents calling for schools to ‘re-close’

Thousands of Hertfordshire residents are calling for schools to be closed, as cases of Covid-19 increase across the country.

Pubs, restaurants, non-essential shops and sports facilities are among the venues that are set to close from Thursday (November 5), as part of a package of measures to halt the spread of the virus.

But unlike the last ‘lockdown’, this time the government has made it clear that schools, universities and colleges should stay open.

That has already prompted some concern, with one leading teaching union already branding schools as ‘an engine for virus transmission’.

And now a petition has been launched on the government’s own website, calling for a review of the plans.

That petition calls on the government to ‘reclose schools and colleges due to increase in covid 19 cases’.

And it says, “we are seeing cases of students and teachers catching the virus since schools have reopened. “

As of 9am yesterday morning (November 3) it included more than 363,000 ‘signatures’ – including almost 6000 Hertfordshire residents.

And that’s already enough to trigger a written response from the government – and for it to be considered for parliamentary debate.

According to the petition website, by 9am on Tuesday the petition had been backed by 5,946 Hertfordshire residents.

Within the Watford constituency there had been 952 residents who had ‘signed’ the online petition – with a further 697 in Hertsmere, 659 in Hemel Hempstead and 605 in South West Hertfordshire.

In St Albans, the number to have ‘signed’ was 525, in Harpenden and Hitchin 426 and in Welwyn Hatfield 601.

In North East Hertfordshire 401 had ‘signed’, in Hertford and Stortford 457, in Stevenage 523 and in Broxbourne 100.

The petition can be found at petition.parliament.ukCommenting on the petition, a spokesperson for Hertfordshire County Council said: “The government guidance is that schools should remain open through the next four weeks of stricter coronavirus measures, and we plan to follow that national guidance locally.”