The requirement to wear face coverings in Scottish secondary school classrooms could end soon, first minister Nicola Sturgeon has said.
The rules on face coverings remain in place for now, 15 months after they were introduced in early November 2020, but this could change after a meeting due to be held a week today.
In England, a requirement to wear face coverings - introduced in response to the Omicron Covid variant - ended on 20 January, although a number of schools have asked students to continue wearing masks.
The first minister said her advisory sub-group on education met and considered the issue of face coverings in schools last week.
She told MSPs in the Scottish Parliament this afternoon: “It concluded that although we may be close to the time when face coverings no longer need to be worn in the classroom, assuming current trends continue, we have not yet reached that stage.
Covid: Sturgeon under fire for not lifting face masks rule
“No one wants young people to have to wear face coverings in the classroom for a moment longer than necessary.
“But given the current uncertainty about infection trends in the immediate future, and the relatively high levels of Covid in the younger age groups, continued caution is prudent at this stage.”
The first minister said that the matter would be considered again by the Covid education sub-group next Tuesday, 8 February. Revised Covid guidance for schools was published today, meaning a return to pre-Omicron measures on bubbles and visitors to schools, for example.
The decision not to scrap the rules on wearing face coverings in schools was criticised by Scottish Conservative leader Douglas Ross, who said that young people were subject to stricter measures around mask use than other members of society.
Ms Sturgeon also said today that new weekly Covid data gives “grounds for optimism”, although case numbers are still high and rose slightly this week.
The biggest increase (7 per cent) was among under-15s, but last week the rise in that age group was 41 per cent. Ms Sturgeon said that this might be a sign that the impact of the return to school after the Christmas holidays may be tailing off.
A statement about the 2022 Scottish Qualifications Authority (SQA) exams was also due this afternoon.
