New Scottish government figures show that pupil attendance has returned to normal levels in Scotland and that coronavirus testing of the two- to 17-year-old age group has plummeted.
The official figures also show the impact the virus is having on school staff absence rates.
Scottish government figures published today show the pupil attendance rate hit 93.2 per cent on Tuesday. Attendance reached a low of 84.2 per cent on Friday 28 August; average annual attendance in Scotland in 2018-19 was 93 per cent.
The figures also show that testing of the two- to 17-year-old age group more than halved last week. A total of 7,067 tests were carried out on this age group during the week ending Sunday 13 September, compared with 16,826 tests the week before.
The data also reveals that 1,441 school staff were absent due to coronavirus on Tuesday, of whom 917 were teachers, meaning that around 1.8 per cent of teachers were absent that day due to Covid-19.
On the same day, a total of 164 teachers were off with confirmed or suspected coronavirus, down from 202 the previous week.
These are the figures in full:
93.2% - attendance rate in Scottish schools on Tuesday (15 September); 1.3% were off for coronavirus related reasons.
84.2% - the lowest attendance rate recorded to date in Scotland since schools went back. The figure was recorded on Friday 28 August but only 3.5 per cent of absences were officially attributed to Covid-19.
1,441 - total number of school staff absent for coronavirus related reasons on Tuesday - from those who had tested positive for coronavirus, to those who were isolating. The figure the previous week was 1,838.
917 - number of teachers absent for coronavirus related reasons on Tuesday (around 1.8 per cent of Scottish teachers), down from 1,132 the previous week.
164 - number of teachers absent with confirmed or suspected coronavirus on Tuesday, down from 202 the previous week.
77 - number of other school staff (not teachers) absent with confirmed or suspected coronavirus on Tuesday, down from 116 the previous week.
58% - the drop in testing of two- to 17-year-olds. A total of 7,067 tests were carried out on this age group last week (week ending Sunday 13 September), as compared to 16,826 tests the week before.
68 - total number of positive tests among two- to 17-year-olds week ending Sunday 13 September, as compared to 75 the previous week.
812 - number of preschool children who had a coronavirus related absence on Tuesday out of a total of 75,275.
20 - number of childcare settings closed due to coronavirus on Tuesday 8 September.
