Scotland’s first minister Nicola Sturgeon has promised “absolute clarity” on the extent to which Scottish schools will be able to unlock coronavirus restrictions before teachers and pupils return following the summer break in August.
Ms Sturgeon said she would set out “more thinking” on the mitigations in schools needed after the summer - including the need for pupils to stay in the same group, or bubble - on Tuesday (13 July) when the government will confirm if the next steps in the easing of lockdown are going ahead as planned on Monday 19 July.
Ms Sturgeon added: “With schools, it may not be the final decision on every aspect of that because, again, we need to think through all of this carefully, and monitor the data. But, certainly, before schools go back we will give absolute clarity on what the position there will be.”
.@scotgov will reveal more of its thinking on school Covid mitigations like bubbles on Tuesday but there will not be a final decision on every aspect - before schools go back there will be “absolute clarity”, says @NicolaSturgeon
- Emma Seith (@Emma_Seith) July 8, 2021
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On Monday 19 July, the Scottish government’s aim is to move to level zero, the lowest level of Covid restrictions possible in the country.
Restrictions still remain fairly significant in level zero compared to England’s “freedom” day, which is also set for 19 July. Then, the prime minister, Boris Johnson, has said almost all restrictions, including masks, bubbles and contact tracing, can be ditched by schools, while in wider society distancing and the wearing of masks will end.
However, during today’s coronavirus briefing, Ms Sturgeon was at pains to stress that the Scottish government’s planned changes on 19 July are not the same as England’s “complete lifting”.
She emphasised the need for continued caution, citing one of the key reasons as the unknown impact of coronavirus on young people, saying: “I don’t think we can just experiment with our young people.”
Ms Sturgeon said: “Even though the majority - the quite significant majority - of cases are now in younger people, who are much less likely to become acutely ill, the health impacts can still be significant.
“Many young people are suffering from long Covid which, of course, experts still don’t fully understand.
“So, it would be wrong and irresponsible - because our young people are not guinea pigs - to have no concern at all about young people being infected with this virus.”
Ms Sturgeon said even after 9 August - the date by which the Scottish government plans to return to “almost complete normality” - it was “probable” that face covering would be retained in “certain settings”.
She specifically highlighted retail and public transport - but not schools - as places where masks may continue to be required.
She said: “I think the wearing of face coverings for a period longer is likely to be one of the not enjoyable and at times really irritating things that we have to do…to help us protect each other.”
It had been previously agreed that schools would open with the same mitigations in place as when they closed for the summer in June, but now the government is saying it plans to publish advice “on which baseline mitigations should be retained in schools as we move beyond level zero, and which should be removed at the earliest opportunity following the return”.
The EIS teaching union is urging caution “especially given the record levels of pupil infection being seen in the final week of term”.
It says some mitigations including effective ventilation, good hygiene regimes and “potentially masks in communal areas” should remain in place, “especially if this is the norm outside of schools”.
A spokesperson said: “Completion of vaccination programmes for all school staff is vital and there is a major decision required around the potential vaccination of 12- to 18-year-olds. Everyone is keen for as much normality as possible, but it is premature to think that the pandemic is on the wane.
“The EIS would be wary about moving away from contact tracing in schools if this remains the main mitigation outside of school. It’s important that the science isn’t compromised by political expediency.”
Tes Scotland recently revealed that come mid August and the return to school, Public Health Scotland is projecting that 85 per cent of teachers will have received two doses of Covid vaccine.
