Twice a week Covid tests for all pupils when secondaries reopen
ALL secondary pupils in Scotland will be offered a test twice a week when they return to classrooms full time after the Easter holidays.
New guidance published by the Scottish Government also stresses that face coverings should “now be worn by staff and young people in secondary schools”, including S1 to S3 pupils when they are in classrooms, communal areas and “when moving about the school”.
But ministers have been told to accelerate the reopening of schools and gyms by the Scottish Conservatives – who have demanded “a lot more hope and optimism” when Nicola Sturgeon sets out any changes to the lockdown in her statement to Parliament this afternoon.
New guidance states that following work with the UK Government, asymptomatic testing currently available to all staff and senior pupils will be extended to all secondary pupils from after the Easter holidays.
Deputy First Minister and Education Secretary John Swinney announced the extension of testing to all secondary pupils and pointed to the new guidance that “all staff and all secondary school pupils should wear face coverings in classrooms, in communal areas and when moving about the school”.
He added: “When children return for their Easter break, we will provide secondary schools with additional test kits.
“This will allow schools to offer twice weekly lateral flow testing kits for all secondary school pupils, including those in S1 to S3.
“Guidance will re-emphasis that staff and pupils who test positive must self-isolate.”
Mr Swinney warned that the lateral flow tests being used can be more sensitive that PCR tests, stressing that “everyone who tests positive using a lateral flow device has a confirmatory PCR test to reduce the risk of false positive results”.
But Douglas Ross has called for the reopening of schools and gyms in Scotland to be accelerated when the First Minister updates MSPS on her Government’s exit from the lockdown today.
The Scottish Conservatives are appealing for gyms to reopen three weeks earlier than anticipated as case numbers continue to decline across Scotland.
The party has stressed that gyms should reopen safely around April 5 when the “stay at home” message ends, instead of April 26 when the Tories believe the Scottish Government will allow them to reopen, as things stand.
The Scottish Tory leader has also called for the return to schools to be propelled forward quicker amid the progress in suppressing the virus.
Mr Swinney said when Ms Sturgeon announces any changes today, she will set out the Scottish Government’s intention to “try to relax lockdown as quickly as we possibly can do”, but warned “we have to do it in a sustainable manner”.
Mr Ross has pointed to comments by public health professionals who have indicated the virus is in decline and prevalence rates have reduced to low levels.
Mr Ross said: “The update (today) has to offer a lot more hope and optimism than the bleak picture the First Minister painted last time.
“The huge success of Scotland and the UK’S vaccine scheme has brought the virus back under control and we should now look to safely start on the road back to normality.”
He added: “We also believe the public health data makes an accelerated reopening of gyms possible. Given how important exercise is to mental and physical wellbeing, we believe that the safe reopening of gyms should be prioritised for early reopening.”
Speaking at the daily coronavirus update, Mr Swinney said “all of the data we look at is moving in the right direction”, pointing to reducing case numbers and test positivity rates.
He added: “The vaccination programme is obviously going well and it’s got comprehensive footing within our community. The pressure on our hospitals, while still significant, is not as grave as it was.”
Mr Swinney was asked whether the reopening of schools could be accelerated amid the brighter picture.
Pointing to the phased return to lessons in Scotland, the Education Secretary said “we have done that with the appropriate pace” adding that it was “a sustainable route to take forward”.