Boris Johnson paved the way for yet another Government U-turn on coronavirus last night amid mounting calls for children to wear face masks in schools.
Public Health England and the Department for Education have reportedly agreed that wearing face masks will be near-mandatory in communal areas of secondary schools.
It came after the Prime Minister laid the ground for a climbdown, insisting the Government will "look at the changing medical evidence as we go on".
He added: "If we need to change the advice then of course we will."
The Welsh Government will decide tomorrow whether school children will be required to wear face coverings. Secondary schools in Scotland will be given "obligatory guidance" that pupils should wear face coverings when moving around schools from Monday, Scotland's Education Secretary confirmed today.
Labour called on the Prime Minister to execute another U-turn and order secondary school pupils to wear masks in corridors.
Shadow Education Secretary Kate Green said: “There is a growing body of evidence that the use of face masks in communal areas in secondary schools helps protect students and staff and drive down transmission.
"The Prime Minister must listen to this evidence and act quickly to give certainty to parents and teachers who are just days away from schools reopening.”
Latest World Health Organisation advice suggests adults and children aged 12 and over should wear a mask, particularly when they cannot guarantee at least a one-metre distance from others and there is widespread transmission in the area.
The Association of School and College Leaders general secretary Geoff Barton said: "We would expect the Government in Westminster to review its guidance on the use of face coverings in schools – which currently says they are not required – in light of the WHO guidance and the consultation taking place in Scotland.”
School leaders in England are ready to impose their own measures. Steve Chalke, founder of Oasis Community Learning, which has 52 academies, said giving pupils visors and masks for moving between lessons made schools "as Covid-safe as possible".
The National Education Union said while it wants schools to reopen, staff and students must be protected from coronavirus.
Joint general secretary Kevin Courtney said: "We have to stay abreast of the science, so when the World Health Organisation says that children over 12 should wear masks in communal areas at school, that ought to be listened to.”