BRADFORD Council have urged schools to maintain mask wearing as Covid cases in the city continue to soar.

As of yesterday, staff and pupils across the country were no longer advised to wear face coverings in classrooms.

From January 27, the Department for Education will remove national guidance on the use of them in communal areas of schools.

Masks could still be required where there are outbreaks, but only if Education Secretary Nadhim Zahawi approves a request.

Bradford Council's Director of Public Health Sarah Muckle says there were more than 2,000 cases among pupils and staff last week, with that number almost reached already this week.

Because of this Mrs Muckle adds that the department have asked Bradford schools to retain mask wearing until the end of January.

She said: “We are focussed on keeping children and young people in school and learning face-to-face as much as possible.

“The national guidance for schools provides leeway for local Directors of Public Health to advise that some safety measures are maintained if there are substantial numbers of positive cases in schools or outbreaks .

“Due to the high number of cases currently affecting our schools we have advised schools to retain masks in these situations and keep current safety measures, including face coverings in crowded spaces, until the end of January.

“Last week, we had more than 2,000 cases of Covid among pupils and staff reported to us from our schools. We have had almost that number reported already this week.

“The number of Covid patients is still rising in our hospitals and although in the last few days there have been signs of the number of infections falling in total in the district, we have not seen that fall yet in the 10-14-year-old age group.

"We are still seeing significant disruption to education due to Covid and we believe this measure will help to reduce the impact of Covid on our children’s education, and reduce the spread of the virus.

“We will review the data at the end of next week."

Ian Murch, president of the National Education Union in Bradford, feels the government's relaxation in restrictions has come to early.

"It is the wrong message especially for communities like ours because Covid cases in Bradford have been going up steadily since the start of term," he said.

"I agree with what Bradford Public health have done by writing to all schools saying they don't think it is safe to follow the government's advice at the moment.

"This could change quite quickly but at the moment it is rampant in schools. Masks should be worn until there is a significant drop in cases."