ALL the evidence is that Covid-19 spreads whenever people meet and mix indoors rather than outdoors, which unfortunately means that schoolchildren, college students and their teachers are vulnerable. So while I can understand why the Government is rightly keen for schoolchildren and students to return to something like normal education as soon as practical (and to give their hard-pressed parents a break), this needs to be done carefully.

There is talk of frequent widespread testing in education establishments, but this will need to be organised, which will presumably take time.

A mix of some classroom and some online teaching is a possibility which is worth considering.

I also think that consideration should be given to making the vaccination of school and college teachers a priority. This would not only help to ensure these vital staff are not temporarily lost due to Covid-19 infections, but limit the spread of the virus. Perhaps schoolchildren and students should also be a vaccination priority?

This means that schools and colleges should be re-opened in a carefully phased way, rather than in the mass return to normality which proved such a mistake in the past.

The necessity of a later reimposition of lockdown measures due to precipitant action would be a tragedy for our country and its economy, and would probably destroy all public confidence in the Government.

Alan Jordan, Middridge.