SCHOOL nativity plays CAN go ahead this Christmas despite creeping Covid concerns, a Cabinet Minister said today.
Dismissing doomster calls for cancellations Transport Secretary Grant Shapps declared: “Let the nativity plays play on!”
Some headteachers are banning parents from attending in-person events to stop outbreaks in schools.
It comes amid fresh virus fears following the emergence of the Nu mutation – described as the “worse variant yet” – in parts of southern Africa.
But Mr Shapps this morning urged teachers and parents to hold their nerve and trust in the booster campaign.
He told LBC: “Let the nativity plays play on, is my view. We did not go through three rounds of vaccination and everything else to have to live out last Christmas again.
“We weren’t able to get together as we should have done with our friends and families.”
He encouraged schools to hold nativities in a stable environment with lots of ventilation.
There has been a steady rise in Covid cases since schools went back after the summer holidays.
Vaccines have now been extended to all over-12s to help curb the spread in classrooms.
Ministers and scientists are now concerned about the Nu variant and last night slammed six affected countries on the travel red list.
Mr Shapps warned the strain would probably reach Britain in the future, but said the Government was holding its nerve.
He said there is “nothing in the data” that means the UK has to launch it’s back-up Plan B which would see mandatory masks, vaccine passports and working from home.
