Children will be damaged more by not going to school than by getting coronavirus

The UK's chief medical adviser, Prof Chris Whitty, says that kids are more likely to be harmed by not going to school rather than catching coronavirus.

Prof Whitty says that children not returning to school will damage them "in the long run" whereas the chance of children dying from COVID-19 "are incredibly small".

He stated that there is "very clear evidence" that children are much less likely to get a severe illness and end up being hospitalised.

There have been ten deaths of COVID-19, recorded between March and June, among children aged from 19 and under in England and Wales, according to the Office of National Statistics.

In just a matter of weeks, millions of students from across England, Wales and Northern Ireland will be returning to school. Schools in Scotland have already reopened.

When discussing a possible vaccine for COVID-19, Prof Whitty said that there would be a "reasonable chance" of a successful vaccine ready in the winter of 2021-2022.

The latest government figures for the R number shows a raise from 0.9 to 1.1, and this could indicate infections are growing.

The government announced that there had been 1,288 new cases on Saturday.