hello and welcome to bbc news. face masks are to be worn in secondary school classrooms in england, to reduce the spread of the omicron variant. until now, england was the only one of the four uk nations where face masks were not recommended for pupils in class. six teaching unions have demanded urgent action to limit the spread of the virus. the government has also announced that 7,000 air cleaning units are to be made available to early years settings, schools and colleges to improve ventilation in classrooms. there s concern that rising cases will continue to impact staffing across vital services. public sector leaders have been asked to prepare for worst case scenarios of up to 25% staff absence rates. in europe, france has cut its self isolation period. fully vaccinated people who test positive will only have to isolate for seven days regardless of the coronavirus variant they are infected with, and can leave quarantine after five days if they show a negative pcr test.
and different ways of seeing in the new year in different parts of the world. hello and welcome to bbc news. face masks are to be worn in secondary school classrooms in england, to reduce the spread of the omicron variant. until now, england was the only one of the four uk nations where face masks were not recommended for pupils in class. six teaching unions have demanded urgent action to limit the spread of the virus. the government has also announced that 7000 air cleaning units are to be made available to early years setting, schools and colleges to improve ventilation in classrooms. there s concern that rising cases will continue to impact staffing across vital services. public sector leaders have been asked to prepare for worst case scenarios of up to 25% staff absence rates. in europe france has cut its self isolation period. fully vaccinated people who test positive will only have to isolate for seven days regardless of the coronavirus variant they are infected w
hello and welcome if you re watching in the uk or around the world. face masks are to be worn in secondary school classrooms in england, to reduce the spread of the omicron variant. until now, england was the only one of the four uk nations where face masks were not recommended for pupils in class. six teaching unions have demanded urgent action to limit the spread of the virus. the government has also announced that 7,000 air cleaning units are to be made available to early years setting, schools and colleges to improve ventilation in classrooms. there s concern that rising cases will continue to impact staffing across vital services. public sector leaders have been asked to prepare for worst case scenarios of up to 25% staff absence rates. in europe, france has cut its self isolation period. fully vaccinated people who test positive will only have to isolate for seven days regardless of the coronavirus variant they are infected with, and can leave quarantine after five da
hello and welcome if you re watching in the uk or around the world. face masks are to be worn in secondary school classrooms in england, to reduce the spread of the omicron variant. until now, england was the only one of the four uk nations where face masks were not recommended for pupils in class. six teaching unions have demanded urgent action to limit the spread of the virus. the government has also announced that 7,000 air cleaning units are to be made available to early years setting, schools and colleges to improve ventilation in classrooms. there s concern that rising cases will continue to impact staffing across vital services. public sector leaders have been asked to prepare for worst case scenarios of up to 25% staff absence rates. in europe, france has cut its self isolation period. fully vaccinated people who test positive will only have to isolate for seven days regardless of the coronavirus variant they are infected with, and can leave quarantine after five da
laughter on prescription the comedy sessions that can seriously improve your helath. and coming up later this hour, wejoin zeinab badawi for take me to the opera. good afternoon and welcome to bbc news. secondary schools in england have been told that children should wear face coverings in classrooms to help stop covid disrupting the new term. the move brings england in line with the rest of the uk. unions have welcomed the advice while also warning that staff shortages could once again lead to some children being taught at home. sanchia berg reports. in scotland, pupils have been wearing masks as they learn with the windows open for the last few months. the picture is similar now in northern ireland and wales. next week, english secondary school students will follow suit as the government tries to reduce the spread of covid 19 in schools. around half of children over 12 have been double jabbed not enough to keep the virus out. the face coverings is very much a short