A PUBLIC health director has appealed to teenagers to follow coronavirus rules as he warned of a rise in infections following this week’s return to schools.

Blackburn with Darwen’s Professor Dominic Harrison said Covid-19 cases were bound to increase but the behaviour of 15 to 19-year-olds in the borough would be key to by how much.

He said: “Schools returning will undoubtedly raise the rates across every local authority.

“We need to do everything we can to control risks to make the rise as slow and contained as possible, especially as we are only half way to getting the adult population vaccinated.

“Since the third national lockdown started and the schools closure on January 5, confirmed case rates have reduced very significantly for our children and young people – between four and five times," he added.

“As schools and colleges go back we need to keep these rates as low as possible over the coming weeks and months.

“It is clear that if rates rise, the government's position is to keep schools open and control the risks elsewhere – by re-closing other areas of lockdown lifting so we may control the overall community transmission risk.

“It is therefore critical for us all that as many children as possible join in the schools’ new lateral flow-testing programme.

“Keeping both the schools’ testing rates and the compliance rate with self–isolation high will be critical not just for children’s continuing education but the whole borough.

Lancashire Telegraph: Child coronavirus rates in Blackburn with Darwen

“Looking at the data from December to March, we can see a big spike in cases in around the second week of January for 15 to 19-year-olds. This looks like a ‘festive mixing’ effect but other evidence suggests that this age group struggles most with compliance with social distancing and lockdown regulations.

“My appeal to 15 to 19-year-olds is to try harder to avoid temptation to socially mix between now and the various official lockdown lifting stages ending in June and to get regularly tested.”

Cllr Julie Gunn, Blackburn with Darwen Council’s education boss, said: “We know that Covid has had a significant impact on the younger generation.

“They have a significant role to play in helping control the transmission of the virus.”