By Tony O’Riley-
Schools in Scotland and Wales are to shut from Friday, according to the Scottish Government.
It follows the death of a third patient after testing positive for Covid-19, as Scotland announced schools and nurseries would be closing at the end of the week.There are now 227 cases of the coronavirus in Scotland, an increase of 32 from yesterday.
First minister Nicola Sturgeon said ”lives are being disrupted like never before” .Sturgeon said the government will be focusing on supporting vulnerable students particularly those who rely on free school meals, addressing the issues with exams, and placing arrangements that provide some kind of support and care for key workers’ children. The Scottish government will set out the details tomorrow.
Ms Sturgeon said: “My view is that it is now inevitable that we will close schools and nurseries.
“My planning assumption is that schools will close to pupils at the end of this week. I wanted today to give parents notice of that.”
She said: “We are still working out the fine detail of what exactly this will mean. How long will this last?
“The clearest guidance I can give is that schools and nurseries will not reopen after the Easter break.
“At this stage I cannot promise that they will reopen before the summer holidays.”
“In some areas, private daycares and nurseries can play a massive role in helping key workers keep going. In other areas, councils will use school buildings to reach vulnerable children. We will support any and every plan that helps people make this work,” Sturgeon said at a press briefing in Edinburgh.
OPTION
The decision is in stark contrast to the position by the Uk government on schools. The Government’s chief scientific adviser, Sir Patrick Vallance, said it was still an option on the table, but repeated the UK’s position is that children are not as vulnerable to the effects of coronavirus as adults. There are no known cases of children catching the coronavirus in the Uk, though a few have self isolated following contact with others with the virus.
A recent study of 745 children in China identified only 10 children with the virus, all of whom only had mild symptoms. The Department Of Education has highlight concerns that closing schools would cause widespread disruption as parents which would include NHS staff would have to take time off work to look after their children. Those concerns are valid, but of more importance is whether children are actually prone to the virus, and capable of spreading it. If the chances of that remain very low then Westminster;s position not to close schools at this stage makes sense.
Westminster’s position may well change soon as staff from several school decide to exercise precaution and stay home, leaving insufficient staff to look after children in schools.