Health Secretary Matt Hancock dodges question of consequences for teachers in England if they refuse to go back to work
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England is still planning for the return of some classes early next month.
On Wednesday UK communities secretary Robert Jenrick was asked about whether or not teachers would be required to return to school, whether or not they believed it to be safe.
He said only that the education secretary was "working very closely with trades unions and with teaching professionals to ensure they are comfortable and have sufficient guidance to return to work."
At this evening's Downing Street briefing UK health secretary Matt Hancock was asked about any "consequences" for staff who did not return to work if required to do so.
He said: "We think it's really important that this is a team effort.
"It is an incredible challenge we face with the reopening of schools and I think everybody understands we are trying to get schools open in a way that is safe.
"I wouldn't be supporting a proposal to start to reopen schools unless it was safe to do so, and it is safe to do so though there is an awful lot of work to do in each individual school to make sure that is done in a way that is safe for them."
Dr Jenny Harries, deputy chief medical officer for England, said there was a lot of "anxiety" about the reopening of schools but that, as the infection rate continues to fall, the likelihood of anyone in a school having the virus was "very small and diminishing with time."
She also talked about the negative health implications in later life for children who are denied access to education.
A total of 2,353,078 coronavirus tests have now been carried out across the UK, 133,784 yesterday.
A total of 236,711 people have tested positive, an increase of 3560 since yesterday.
The total death toll from the virus now stands at 33,998. That is an increase of 384 from yesterday.
