The education secretary announced the scrapping of bubbles, masks and staggered school days in England as the number of pupils missing lessons because of the coronavirus rose above 600,000 yesterday.
The figure has more than doubled in a fortnight, with the vast majority forced to self-isolate after contact with someone testing positive.
Gavin Williamson said the use of restrictions including bubbles, under which whole classes or year groups are sent home if a child tests positive, would end in the move to step 4 expected on July 19. Secondary schools will test pupils twice on their return in September and encourage home tests, but after that tracking contacts would be left to NHS Test & Trace.
Universities were told there would be no restriction on
