Sturgeon’s new warning over tests for sick children
Parents told not to worry about coughs and colds
PARENTS have been urged to avoid booking coronavirus tests if their child has only normal cold symptoms such as a runny nose.
The warning came as screening appointments for youngsters rocketed – putting huge pressure on the system.
Last week, 17,500 children aged between two and 17 were tested, with only 49 of them found to have the virus.
The number of children being booked in for tests is eight times higher than before the return of schools.
Nicola Sturgeon has moved to reassure parents that they can decide whether their child should attend school if they have cold symptoms but do not have any of the main coronavirus symptoms.
It comes after a health board caused confusion by advising parents that pupils should not be sent to school if they have a blocked or runny nose, headache or sore throat – despite these not being symptoms of Covid-19.
At her coronavirus briefing yesterday, Miss Sturgeon announced that data from Public Health Scotland indicates that the number of children under the age of 17 going for testing has increased eight-fold compared with the middle of July.
But she said only 0.3 per cent of tests on children were positive last week.
It follows concerns about a number of cases of the virus related to pupils, including one outbreak which led to the closure of a school in Dundee.
Miss Sturgeon said: ‘I know, and can well understand, why many parents and teachers and young people themselves have concerns about the return to school.
‘Yes, we have had clusters of cases in some communities involving young people – but
I think these figures reveal the bigger picture. Despite an increase of more than 300 per cent in the number of young people that were tested from one week to the next – from the week before last to last week – the number of positive cases recorded increased by just two. Not 2 per cent, just two cases in total.’
The First Minister said that she hopes the figures are ‘reassuring’ to parents across the country, adding: ‘I hope it will encourage you to absolutely continue to be vigilant – we all have to be vigilant right now – but not to be unduly concerned about young people in schools.
‘While it is understandable that people, parents in particular, want to err on the side of caution, it is also important to remember the symptoms of Covid that trigger the need for a test.
‘These are any one of a new persistent cough, a fever, or a loss of or change in sense of taste or smell.
‘Other symptoms – like a runny nose – if they are not accompanied by one of the Covid symptoms, should not lead to a test.’
NHS Lothian was accused of causing confusion and anxiety by publishing new guidance which said that families should book a test if a child has any of the main Covid symptoms.
It then added: ‘If someone is experiencing other symptoms, e.g. blocked/runny nose, headache, sore throat, etc, but not including any of the classic Covid-related symptoms, they should stay off school until their symptoms have resolved and they feel well.’
Some schools and nurseries passed the guidance on to parents. The health board later said that it intended to look at the wording again and make it clear to parents that children should be kept off school only if they are truly unwell. Official figures show that a total of 10,665 pupils were absent from school last Friday, giving an absence rate of 8.2 per cent.
Absence for coronavirus-related reasons was 1.5 per cent – which was double a figure given by ministers a week ago. Asked yesterday whether children should be kept off school if they have a runny nose and if she would publish clear national guidance, Miss Sturgeon said: ‘There is clear national guidance.
‘I stand up here every day and I communicate it to those of you who are still watching.
‘I am not going to stand here and advise parents individually of when they should keep their own children off school.
‘There will be a whole host of non-Covid reasons that existed before the pandemic why a parent will make a judgment on a daily basis why not to send their child to school.
‘But what we are talking about here are the Covid-related reasons, and those come down to the symptoms that I remind people of every day.’
Yesterday’s official figures showed an additional 68 positive cases in Scotland, while the reproduction number range – the average number of people infected by
‘Be vigilant but not unduly concerned’
‘There is clear national guidance’
someone with the virus – was unchanged at 0.8-1.2.
At Kingspark School in Dundee, which was closed amid an outbreak, an additional three people have tested positive, taking the total to 34 – 21 staff, three pupils and ten contacts.
Concerns have also been raised about different approaches taken by schools, with some leaving children outside in torrential rain during breaks and others allowing them to shelter in crowded corridors.
Miss Sturgeon said individual head teachers can make judgments based on the physical layout of their school. She added: ‘We want children to be outside as much as possible when they are not in the classroom because it is good for them to have fresh air but also reduces the transmission risk.
‘But nobody expects children to be outside in gale-force winds.’
She added: ‘Obviously from Monday, in corridors and communal areas, because we recognise there is a greater difficulty in physical distancing, there will be requirement in secondary schools for younger people to wear face coverings.’