Hundreds of young people and families tune in to Hertfordshire County Council's live Covid-19 webinar

Over 400 young people and their families tuned in to Hertfordshire County Council’s live Covid-19 webinar for young people last week.

Questions ranging from ‘Will I have to be tested when I go back to school?’ and ‘Will Year 12 mock exams go ahead?’ to ‘When can I meet up with my boyfriend again?’ and ‘Can my pet get Covid-19’ were all posed during the webinar.

The panel, led by Professor Jim McManus, director of Public Health for Hertfordshire, answered over 50 young people’s questions during the hour long webinar, which is now available to view online.

Cabinet Member for Public Health and Prevention, Tim Hutchings, said: “This is a new experience for us all, we’re all learning as we go along and doing what we can to keep residents informed.

"We are delighted that so many young people tuned in to ask interesting and searching questions. Apart from wanting to impart information it was also important for us to learn, and understand, what was important to them.

“We recognise how difficult the current situation is for young and old alike, but we must all keep social distancing so that we can get the number of Covid-19 cases down.

“My advice to young people is to follow government guidance, only get information from trusted sources and know that it’s OK to not always feel OK - keeping in touch with each other and your school can really help.”

The full webinar is available to watch at: www.justtalkherts.org/coronaviruswebinar.

Answers to all the questions asked on the day, including those that there wasn’t time to address in the webinar, will also soon be available at the same web address.

Any young people who are struggling with their mental health and wellbeing at this time can visit www.justtalkherts.org for information and advice.

The webinar panel comprised:

- Professor Jim McManus, Director of Public Health, Hertfordshire County Council

- Councillor Tim Hutchings, Cabinet Member for Public Health

- Simon Newland, Education Operations Director, Hertfordshire County Council

- Liz Shapland, Deputy Education Services Director, Herts for Learning