Woman Refuses To Send Daughter To School For 20 Months Fearing COVID-19; Faces Legal Action

A woman has been threatened with legal action for keeping her nine-year-old daughter out of school for nearly two years, fearing COVID-19. According to the mother, she fears her children could be in "danger from coronavirus and long COVID-19."

Lisa Diaz, 40, from Wigan, the United Kingdom, has been threatened with prosecution after her daughter Helena's poor attendance became "a cause of concern," reported Yahoo News. As per the U.K. law, Diaz could be fined £2,500 [$3,403 approx.] or jailed for three months.

According to Diaz, a teacher-turned-salesperson, she teaches Helana at home and keeps her headteacher informed about the child's progress.

"I want my children to be safe and I want my children in school. I don't want any of this. But somebody has to stand up for what is right, somebody has to speak out. It's immoral, it's disgraceful that people are being treated this way," Diaz told ITV1's Good Morning Britain.

According to her, COVID-19 "harms children" and the narrative that "Omicron is mild" is just a "fairytale," reported inews.

Diaz also took to Twitter to talk about a letter from Wigan Council which stated that the "poor school attendance record" of her child has come to their attention.

The council added that "absence from school without satisfactory reason being shown" is a legal offense. "The court may also decide to refer the child for proceedings in the Family Court. Unless your child resumes regular attendance at school, and in the absence of medical or other reasonable excuses, the matter will be reported to the local authority, who may decide to instigate legal proceedings," read the letter.

Diaz added: "The laws were designed for parents who take their children out of school for no good reason. They're not playing truant, they know where my children are because I send their teachers pictures every day. I'm not withholding education from them, so on what grounds am I being criminalized."

According to reports, while parents can opt to homeschool their children, they have to remove them from the school roll before doing so.

Diaz also has a 12-year-old old son, Alex, who too was homeschooled. Alex is now fully vaccinated and has since returned to school.