PUPILS could soon be asked to wear face coverings in school, the First Minister Nicola Sturgeon has said.
The Scottish Government’s Education Recovery Group is set to discuss the issue when they meet today. It follows on from a plea by the EIS for “stronger advice on face coverings, where physical distancing is not possible”.
In a letter to the First Minister on Tuesday, the teachers’ union said it was odd that people were not allowed into a museum without a mask, but were allowed into schools.
Yesterday, during First Minister’s Questions, Green MSP Patrick Harvie told Nicola Sturgeon that a week into the new term many teachers and parents still had concerns about safety.
He said: “For schools to remain open, they need to remain safe. A week on from re-opening, it is clear that the concerns that were expressed by teachers and other school staff, as well as parents and pupils, are still very real.
“Despite the efforts that are being made, further action is needed to keep people safe.
“The Educational Institute of Scotland has this week made a direct plea to the First Minister, saying that 3,500 teachers are needed to reduce class sizes. So far, the Scottish Government is providing funding for less than half that number.”
Harvie said the union was also asking for guidance on physical distancing and face coverings to be strengthened.
“The evidence is clear that face coverings can reduce the spread of the virus, which is why they are needed in other indoor spaces.
It is just not credible to say that transmission simply will not happen in schools, when we know that the risk exists everywhere else where social distancing does not happen.”
He added: “Is the First Minister as concerned as I am by the pictures of crowded school corridors and canteens, where it is clear that social distancing is not possible?
“Does she believe that face coverings should be worn in high schools when distancing is not possible?”
The First Minister said it was important for children to be back to school “because we know the harm that has been done to children from being out of school and away from education and their friends”. But that had to be balanced with the concerns of parents.
She said: “The bulk of the evidence so far shows that the transmission is not within the schools; community transmission is causing issues for schools.
“That will perhaps change – we cannot rule that out. We have to keep the evidence under review.
“The guidance that is in place has been informed by scientific evidence. We will ask our scientific advisers to continue to review emerging evidence.”
Sturgeon said the Education Recovery Group would discuss face coverings at their meeting today.
“It might well be that, in the near future, we will look to change the guidance on the role of face coverings in schools.
“None of the guidance can be fixed in stone. We are trying to navigate a difficult, uncertain and unpredictable situation.
“We are prioritising having children back in school, but we are determined to do anything that is required to make the return to school safe and to allow it to continue.”
Meanwhile, the First Minister was also pressed on reports that at least 37 patients who had tested positive for coronavirus were discharged to hospital at the start of the pandemic.
Sturgeon said clinical decisions were made to move people out of hospital, which she or her ministers would not be involved in.
Labour leader Richard Leonard revealed that an Freedom of Information request from his party found that at least 1203 people were discharged without a test between March and May.
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