SCHOOLS and universities in Scotland are currently to remain open though contingency plans are being drawn up in the event they need to close, the First Minister has warned.
Nicola Sturgeon said the schools decision remains “under close, ongoing review”, adding their closure would have a direct impact on front-line staff who are parents.
“If it gets to the stage where the advice is to close schools, this will not be for a week or two weeks, this is something that would be advised to last throughout the peak of this infection, and that is potentially until the summer period,” she said.
The decision came hours after the announcement by the Irish government that schools, colleges and other public facilities were to close in the wake of the coronavirus outbreak.
The First Minister was earlier asked about her decision when she was quizzed by MSPs during First Minister’s Questions at Holyrood yesterday.
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Labour MSP Daniel Johnson asked: “The precedent of school closures in response to Covid-19 in other countries – Ireland, most recently – will naturally concern school pupils who are planning to take exams after the Easter holidays. What communication has the Scottish Government had with the Scottish Qualifications Authority (SQA)? What contingencies are in place, should this year’s exam diet be impacted by potential restrictions and disruptions as a result of the pandemic?”
Sturgeon responded that the Deputy First Minister and Cabinet Secretary for Education and Skills John Swinney had already had extensive discussions with the SQA, adding that work was under way “to put in place sensible contingency plans”.
She added: “The advice right now is not that schools, colleges and universities should be closed, but – as I said earlier – we must keep that under review.
“In the interest of time, I will summarise and generalise advice in relation to schools. If schools are closed, children will inevitably gather together in less formal settings, which might be a greater risk in terms of spread of infection than their being in school, where they are encouraged to use proper hand-hygiene practices. That is the advice right now, but we will continue to keep it under review – informed, of course, by the experts from whom we are seeking advice.”
Taoiseach Leo Varadkar (above) said the closure of schools, colleges and other public facilities in the wake of the coronavirus outbreak would take effect from 6pm on Thursday until March 29.
The number of confirmed cases in Scotland almost doubled from 36 to 60 in the latest daily figures, released at 2pm yesterday.
The figures showed 2892 tests have been carried out so far, with 2832 tests confirmed negative.
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There are 11 confirmed cases in the Lothian area and 10 in Greater Glasgow and Clyde, with seven each in Grampian and Lanarkshire.
Six cases have been confirmed in Shetland, six in Forth Valley, four each in Tayside and Ayrshire and Arran, with three cases in Fife and two in the Borders.
Large gatherings of more than 500 people that require police or paramedics, or could impact on the health service, will be cancelled from Monday.
The decision was taken by the Scottish Government, rather than at a UK-wide level, Sturgeon said, and would apply to events such as large football and rugby matches and concerts.
She added: “This is not an ordinary situation and I know the wider public understand that.
“This is not a move that we are making because the science has told us it will have a significant impact on the spread of the virus – on the contrary, the science tells us that it will not have a significant impact.”
Sturgeon also said the UK has moved from the contain phase into the delay phase, where the objective is to slow down the spread of coronavirus and reduce numbers infected at the peak. She said another key focus will be to protect those groups in society that early data suggests are more at risk.
Meanwhile, the chief medical officers for England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland have written to doctors warning the coronavirus will put healthcare under “extreme pressure” which will “inevitably be exacerbated by staff shortage due to sickness”.
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