SCHOOLS reopening is likely to be the toughest piece in the jigsaw after the lockdown loosening of recent months.

Everyone accepts reopening them is a priority but given coronavirus infections are back on the rise, parents, teachers and the wider public are right to have concerns.

In recent days it has felt like a return to the start of the year, seeing a wave coming in the distance.

Back in February preventative steps weren't taken and we ended up in lockdown.

As we have seen things slowly reopen it has been an extra reminder no one wants to return to that. But with each loosening, each jigsaw piece complete, cases have gone up.

It is true children are at a low risk of becoming ill from the virus themselves, and child-to-child transmission in schools appears to be uncommon.

But former government chief scientific officer David King says the R rate of infection number is set to rise 0.5 when schools reopen - and we already are on a tipping point to go above 1.

Some have argued there might have to be a trade off, closing pubs to reopen schools for example, is that the solution?