A MUM has kept her daughter out of school for almost two years in case she catches Covid – despite the virus posing a low risk to children.
Lisa Diaz first began teaching her children Helena, nine, and Alex, 12, from home in March 2020, when Boris Johnson shut down schools during the first lockdown.
But even when classes reopened, Lisa, of Wigan, refused to send either of her children back, and only allowed Alex to attend again in November 2021 after he received two jabs.
She now faces a £2,500 fine and even a prison sentence – but said she won’t back down.
A string of hugely positive studies show Omicron is milder than other strains, with reports revealing it’s as much as 99 per cent less deadly than Delta.
Covid booster jabs protect against Omicron and offer the best chance to get through the pandemic, health officials have repeatedly said.
Trending In The News’s Jabs Army campaign is helping get the vital extra vaccines in Brits’ arms to ward off the need for any new restrictions.
Speaking on Good Morning Britain today, Lisa said: “My concern is that Covid harms children.”
MUM’S FEARS
And she claimed there are “record numbers of hospitalisations” for children during the wave of Omicron.
“The narrative that it’s mild is just a fairy tale,” she claimed.
“Honestly, my greatest fear as a parent is that my children will end up with long Covid.”
Susanna Reid replied: “You’re very frightened for your child.
“You think primary school is the place she’s most likely to pick up an infection, and you’re too frightened about her bringing it home., presumably.”
But Lisa argued: “I think, the language we use about being frightened – I’m informed.
“Unfortunately, the government aren’t putting out this message that it’s harmful to children.”
Susanna said: “The reason I’m using the word ‘frightened’ is that we’re all informed, but most people – the majority – are sending children to school.”
‘YOU’RE VERY FRIGHTENED’
Dr Hilary said around two per cent of hospitalisations for Covid are in children under the age of 17, and Omicron is known to be less severe.
“There’s some data from South Africa suggesting the opposite is true in children – however, I haven’t seen that confirmed,” the medic said.
And he said that unless Lisa is keeping Helena “prisoner at home”, every Brit should expect to be exposed to the virus.
Richard Madeley said the little one would have to be “isolated at home 24/7” to completely avoid a risk of Covid.
“She’s still at risk going to the shops or on a walk,” he said.
Lisa, 40, has been sent a letter by Wigan Council saying Helena’s ‘poor attendance record’ could lead to family court proceedings.
According to the latest data from the Office for National Statistics, the percentage of people testing positive for the virus is currently highest among young adults and primary school-aged children.
An estimated one in 15 people living in England have coronavirus, and across the UK, 1.3m people are believed to be suffering with long Covid.
However, the risk of severe illness or death is “extremely low” in kids, and 99.995 per cent will survive the infection.
Professor Wei Shen Lim, Chair of the JCVI’s Covid-19 immunisation committee, has previously said: “The majority of children aged five to 11 are at very low risk of serious illness due to Covid-19.”
Elsewhere, the number of people testing positive for the virus dropped for the fifth day in a row yesterday.
A total of 141,472 new infections were reported on Sunday – a day after deaths passed the grim milestone of 150,000.
And Boris Johnson is preparing to unveil his ‘Living with Covid’ plan within the coming weeks.
The future plan could see isolation periods slashed and free lateral flow tests scrapped for all but the most high-risk places as ministers predict six more years of the pandemic.
