First minister Nicola Sturgeon has underlined that keeping schools open is her top priority, as Scotland experiences one of the sharpest rises in coronavirus cases since the pandemic began.
The upward trend in case numbers has prompted fears that schools may forced to close again. Public health expert Professor Linda Bauld - and soon-to-be government advisor - has said that a spike now, as Scottish schools return following the summer break, could lead to pressure to close schools.
Yesterday, 4,323 positive cases were reported in Scotland - the largest figure recorded in a single day since the pandemic began.
However, while Ms Sturgeon admitted at a briefing today that “things feel very fragile again”, she said that closing schools would be a last resort.
Background: 85% of Scotland’s teachers to be jabbed by next term
News: Covid-positive education secretary keeps working
Related: New strain threat makes school mitigations ‘essential’
Ms Sturgeon said: “I want to keep all aspects of life we have managed to get back to normal, back to normal. I want people to observe basic precautions and mitigations, but right at the top of that list of things I do not want to see go backwards is the ability of children to be in school. All of us have a duty to try to limit the spread of the virus in other ways so we keep children at school.”
Ms Sturgeon added that she “very much” hoped the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation (JCVI) would “recommend that we go further and vaccinate younger cohorts of children”.
Ms Sturgeon revealed that 40 per cent of 16- and 17-year-olds - who started being offered the vaccine a couple of weeks ago - have now had their first jag.
Meanwhile over 1700 vulnerable 12- to 15-year-olds have had a first dose of vaccine - 49 per cent of those eligible.
Ms Sturgeon - who also announced the process for getting a statutory public inquiry into the handling of the pandemic up and running had started - put the rise in Covid cases down to Scotland still being in the “impact phase” following the lifting of restriction on 9 August, and said that the rise was “not entirely unexpected”.
Confirmed @ScotParl today @scotgov will establish a public inquiry into handling of Covid and shared the news with bereaved families. Human rights based inquiry with discussion underway about terms of reference. Inquiry to be established by end of 2021. https://t.co/9HkIEP5KTa
- John Swinney (@JohnSwinney) August 24, 2021
The first minister added that it was still a cause for concern and that the return to school, which took place in most parts of Scotland last week, was also likely to be starting to have an impact on case numbers.
Ms Sturgeon, however, said that the full impact of teachers and pupils being back in class would only be felt in the coming weeks.
The public inquiry into the handling of the Covid pandemic will have an explicit focus on “societal impacts, including education” and will start at the end of the year. It will be led by a judge.
