British PM says schools will reopen on June 1

LONDON, May 24 (MENA) - British Prime Minister Boris Johnson on Sunday said that schools will reopen on June 1 as the UK enters phase two of lockdown exit, The Independent reported.

Mr Johnson said that the formal decision on moving to step two of easing the lockdown would come by the legal deadline of Thursday for a nine-week review of the lockdown, when the government will also set out its assessment of its five tests for easing restrictions and give details of possible changes in rules for non-essential shops.

The proposed reopening has faced widespread opposition from unions and some councils, including Liverpool and Hartlepool, which have said their schools will remain closed except to vulnerable children and the offspring of key workers who are unable to find alternative childcare.

A major teaching union has warned that Boris Johnson's decision to press ahead with a partial reopening of primary schools in England on June 1 is "seriously at odds" with scientific evidence about the risk of coronavirus infection to pupils, teachers and parents sparking a second wave of Covid-19.