...and he admits opening up does hit infection rate

OPENING schools has a significant impact on the spread of coronavirus, ministers have admitted.

The SNP Government confirmed for the first time that full-time schooling has a big impact on the national infection rate.

The revelation has led to renewed concerns that there could be a prolonged period before schools are able to fully return.

Education Secretary John Swinney yesterday said it is estimated that having schools open full-time adds 0.2 to the R number, the reproduction rate of the virus which shows the average number of people infected by someone who has the virus.

The R number is estimated to be between 1.0 and 1.4 – and it is unlikely that lockdown restrictions will be relaxed until it falls consistently below 1.0.

Mr Swinney said the return of schools depends on the prevalence of the virus.

He added: ‘We know that, when the schools are in in full, they contribute about 0.2 to the R level that we have.

‘Obviously if we have part of the school infrastructure operating that contributes a smaller amount.

‘And we have to be making judgments based on the prevalence of the virus and the degree to which we have the headroom that can cope with the circulation and activity that goes with schools operating.’

The comments led to renewed fears that some pupils could face a prolonged period of home learning.

Jo Bisset, organiser for parents group UsForThem Scotland, said: ‘What Mr Swinney is saying is that there was never any good reason to keep young children away from school, and that their prospects and social experiences have been destroyed needlessly.

‘This also suggests that the Scottish Government wants to keep other children home for the long-term. The consequences of that will be grave.’

She added: ‘There is a balance of harm argument here, and increasingly it seems the Scottish Government wants to dump that harm on the doorsteps of children and hard-working families.’

Latest figures yesterday confirmed another 1,656 positive coronavirus cases in Scotland, while the number of people in hospital increased by 14, to 2,003, and the number of patients in intensive care increased by six, to 156.

There was also a further 92 deaths of patients who had tested positive in the previous 28 days, taking the death toll under that measurement to 5,468 since the beginning of the pandemic.

Weekly figures for Scotland, which include all cases linked to the virus, revealed there was a further 368 deaths in the week to last

Sunday, including 240 in hospitals and 97 in care homes. First Minister Nicola Sturgeon said: ‘The figures that I have reported today demonstrate the seriousness of the situation that we continue to face.

‘As a result of the lockdown restrictions, as I reported to parliament yesterday, case numbers appear to have stabilised. Indeed, they may even be declining.

‘However, as we see again today, they remain too high.

‘Hospital admissions are 30 per cent higher now than at the peak of the first wave last April. Although admissions to intensive care

‘Our NHS is under severe pressure’

are below the first wave peak, they have almost doubled since the turn of the year.

‘All of that means that our National Health Service is under severe pressure and, given the number of new cases over the past couple of weeks, that pressure is almost certain to increase.’

A Scottish Government report published last week said the latest estimate of the R number in Scotland by the Scientific Advisory Group on Emergencies was ‘between 1.0 and 1.4’ on January 13.

This was higher than between 0.9 and 1.3 reported on January 6, despite the Scottish Government’s lockdown measures that have been in place.