Making people wear face coverings in schools should not be ruled out and could help keep secondaries open, public health expert Professor Linda Bauld has said.
She does not believe that the measure is required at the moment, however, despite widespread concern about a lack of social distancing in schools - shared by first minister Nicola Sturgeon - and a number of cases of pupils with Covid-19 since Scottish schools started reopening last week.
Yesterday, education secretary and deputy first minister John Swinney said face coverings would not be made mandatory in schools, but that the situation would be kept under review.
Swinney: No need for mandatory face coverings in school
Schools reopening: Sturgeon to take action over images of crowded schools
Back to school: Sturgeon told of safety fears as schools return fully
Background: Stop crowding outside schools, parents are warned
Coronavirus: Most teachers ‘fear reopening schools is unsafe’
Face coverings are already compulsory in many indoor settings in Scotland, including shops, on public transport and in cinemas, galleries, museums, libraries and banks. Professor Bauld said they could be considered elsewhere if levels of Covid-19 go up.
In an interview on BBC Radio Scotland, Professor Bauld, of the University of Edinburgh, said the virus is at a “very low level in terms of where we are in Scotland”.
She said the best way to protect schools is to keep virus levels low, but that face coverings could be considered for secondary school students to avoid having to “pause” education.
Professor Bauld said: “In terms of the cases that we’re hearing about in school pupils, these are not cases that are occurring because pupils are catching the virus in the school setting, they are cases that are arising in the community, and when we have the virus circulating in the community even at low levels we know that children and young people may get it and then therefore if they go into the school they are still carrying it.”
She added: “We haven’t seen any concerns - schools have only been open for a week - about schools being a source for the virus to rapidly spread, so we need to keep that in mind and keep focused on those schools being open and being as safe as possible.
“I think the main thing we can do to protect schools is to keep the virus low in the community generally, and that’s about us all following the guidance and about this gradual reopening.
“I think if we wanted to talk about, for example, face coverings for secondary school pupils rather than closing a school, that’s another step we might want to discuss, that’s being discussed in other places, but we don’t need it at the moment. We just have to think about what are the alternatives to having to pause education again because we’re all trying to avoid that.”
With at least 17 schools with positive #covid19 cases in Scotland in the first week of #ReopeningSchools, I’m beginning to wonder if the sensible & correct approach would have been to test everyone prior to starting. Who knows how many more 100s of asymptomatic cases there are? pic.twitter.com/fRDGtsrBHQ
- Nuzhat Uthmani (@NUthmani) August 20, 2020
One secondary teacher, who asked not to be named, told Tes Scotland today: “Social distancing is nearly impossible and students are genuinely confused about why they can cram on a school bus and in a classroom to ensure a full-time return yet can’t play team sports.
“Every school seems to be doing something different [with measures to tackle Covid-19] and too much is open to interpretation.”
Another secondary teacher said school staff had been sent a letter by their local authority before term started, “explicitly promising PPE for staff (masks, gloves) which has never appeared. Have to use our own. No teacher areas taped out in class, had to do it ourselves.”
The teacher added: “So precautions extend to horrible watery hand sanitiser and wipes for tables, neither of which give the impression of having anything in them stronger than vinegar.”
If 17 football clubs were affected, there’d be wall to wall coverage and politicians and their fans would be falling over themselves to comment. Why are children, teachers and school staff less important?#ProtectSchools https://t.co/N0gURPc6Ox
- Nicola Fisher (@Istimrar) August 19, 2020
Meanwhile, it emerged late yesterday that a school in Dundee is to close at least for the rest of the week after a rise in the number of coronavirus cases in adults connected with the school. Dundee City Council and NHS Tayside announced the decision to close Kingspark School for a deep clean after six people were identified as having Covid-19.
?: Education Secretary @JohnSwinney tells our reporter @callums_clark the decision to close Kingspark School in Dundee is the right one.
Six adults connected to the additional needs facility have returned positive results.
? Adds “we will need to proceed with great caution.” pic.twitter.com/yxtO9k5M1i
- Radio Tay News (@RadioTayNews) August 19, 2020
Paul Clancy, Dundee City Council executive director for children and families, said: “There are robust hygiene measures and other mitigations in place throughout Kingspark School. However, given the vulnerabilities and complex needs of the pupils, we cannot take any risks.”
A number of other schools across Scotland have also been affected by cases of Covid-19 since reopening last week.
In Glasgow, an entire class and their teacher was told to self-isolate after a positive case of coronavirus at St Albert’s Primary School in Pollokshields. Glasgow City Council said there is “no evidence of transmission within the school itself”.
A letter to parents from NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde (NHSGGC) says the health board is working closely with the school and council to carry out a risk assessment and “establish a list of close contacts within the school”.
Contact tracing is also taking place at several other primary schools across Glasgow, as well as in Renfrewshire and West Dunbartonshire.
Renfrewshire Council confirmed a case of Covid-19 at Todholm Primary School in Paisley on Monday. Two others were identified in Perth and Kinross, at Newhill Primary School in Blairgowrie and Oakbank Primary School in Perth.
Test and Protect teams are also working on tracing at Wallace Primary and St James’ Primary in Renfrewshire; Carntyne Primary and Kelvinside Academy in Glasgow; and Edinbarnet Primary in West Dunbartonshire.
Dr Linda de Caestecker, NHSGGC director of public health, said: “To control the spread of the virus, it is essential that anyone contacted by Test and Protect follows the directions given, including self-isolation.”
She added: “We would like to take this opportunity to remind everyone of the importance of continuing with the general measures to minimise the risk of Covid-19 to themselves and to others.
“These include social distancing, regular handwashing and being vigilant for symptoms.
“Anyone with symptoms should immediately self-isolate and seek a test.”
