NICOLA Sturgeon has said the Government is keen to avoid closing schools where pupils test positive for coronavirus.

The First Minister said “risk-based judgements” would be made on each individual case, and proportionate action taken.

The comments came as an entire class of primary children and their teacher were told to self-isolate after a pupil tested positive for Covid-19 at St Albert’s school in Glasgow.

Students at the school, which is located in the First Minister’s Glasgow Southside constituency, have been contacted by public health officials and told to quarantine for 14 days. Each child at the school has been issued with an iPad so that lessons can continue to be taught remotely.

In a letter sent home to parents, NHS officials say there is no evidence of any transmission taking place within the school.

Schools in Aberdeenshire, Glasgow, Lanarkshire, Dundee, Perth and Kinross and Renfrewshire have all now had pupils who have tested positive for Covid-19.

READ MORE: Coronavirus: Dundee school to close amid Covid-19 connections

Speaking at the Scottish Government’s daily coronavirus briefing, the First Minister said there was no sign of any outbreaks in primary schools, but rather individual cases of primary school aged children who were “getting the virus in the community,” she said.

“This may not always be the case – we have to contemplate that we may see outbreaks in schools at some stages. But right now that is not what we are facing.”

Sturgeon said she couldn’t rule out schools closing, but her priority was to avoid that happening.

She said: ”Everything we are doing is to try and avoid that and risk-based judgements will be made in individual schools if a class has to be sent home or if the whole school has to close for a period and it’s important that we make those judgements on that basis rather than setting blanket trigger points right now.

“Obviously if community transmission was to get back to the kind of levels we saw at a much much earlier stage of this through March and April, then having schools open full time there may be a different conclusion reached about that.

“But we are not at that stage and everything we are trying to do right now as far as we possibly can is designed to stop us getting back to that stage.

“This is not something we are complacent about but we also know that damage has been done to our kids from not having school for such an extended period.”

John Swinney said blended learning measures would be used if needed: “We would be very much focused on taking proportionate action along with local authorities to try to maximise the availability of young people to be to access learning.”

Swinney also rejected calls to make face coverings mandatory, saying that they had “some negative effects on communication and learning”. However, he said those who wish to wear masks should be able to do so.