The UK's chief medical officers have urged schools to reopen after the summer holidays, warning that the risks of not going is more likely to damage pupils than the COVID-19 pandemic.

File photo: CGTN

Schools across England are readying themselves to reopen their doors to students next month, some of whom have been closed for months. 

Many parents, teachers and unions are unsure whether the decision by prime minister Boris Johnson to get children back into classrooms is safe during the COVID-19 pandemic – but Whitty is adamant. 

"The chances of many children being damaged by not going to school are incredibly clear," said England's chief medical officer Chris Whitty. "And therefore, the balance of risk is very strongly in favor of children actually going to school because many more are likely to be harmed by not going than harmed by going, even during this pandemic."