Lockdown has been extended until the end of February – but Monklands’ youngest pupils could be back in the classroom in three weeks, for the first time this year.
The First Minister told the Scottish Parliament today that the current coronavirus restrictions are having an impact on infections and hospital admissions, but that they “need to remain in place” for a further period.
However, she announced plans for a phased return to full-time face-to-face learning for children in Primaries One to Three and pre-school youngsters attending early years facilities, intended to take place from Monday, February 22.
A limited part-time return is also proposed from the same date for senior secondary pupils completing essential practical work for qualification courses, but with only five to eight per cent of pupils being permitted in school at any given time.
The education dates are “subject to continued progress” and due to be confirmed in two weeks’ time.
A spokesperson for North Lanarkshire Council told the Airdrie and Coatbridge Advertiser: “While we wait for confirmation of the detail around the phased return of some children and young people later this month, we will work on plans for proposed arrangements.”
Nicola Sturgeon told MSPs at Holyrood this afternoon: “All of us want to see young people back in full-time face-to-face education as soon as possible.
“Our room for maneouvre is limited, but every single inch of headroom is being used to get children back to school, even if adults live with restrictions for longer.
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“If we all do agree to abide by lockdown for a bit longer, we can begin a phased return to school from February 22.
“We’re determined to get our children back to normal schooling as quickly as is safe to do so, and it’s right that it’s the overriding priority of all of us.”
The First Minister told how “average daily case numbers have more than halved in the past three weeks” and that the number of patients being admitted to hospital and who are in intensive care “do appear to have peaked”.
However, she said: “The situation does continue to be fragile, and if we were to ease restrictions too quickly, infections would rise again very quickly; especially as the new variant now acounts for 73 per cent of all new cases.
“We’re making progress in suppressing the virus and getting people vaccinated; we need to do more on both those fronts, but the path ahead remains difficult and we must all stay at home except for essential purposes at least until the end of this month
“As more and more people get vaccinated and with additional measures, we may be able to look at gradual easing around the start of March.”
Ms Sturgeon announced an increase in routine asymptomatic testing to a wider range of patient-facing healthcare staff and in food production and distribution workplaces, as well as an eligibility extension for the £500 self-isolation payment to everyone earning below the living wage.
A new system of managed quarantine is to be introduced for every overseas traveller arriving directly in Scotland, rather than just those from countries with travel bans in place as is the current UK-wide policy.
She said: “It’s essential that we guard against fresh importation from overseas and we must learn from past experience – by early July last year we’d almost eliminated Covid, but allowed it to be reseeded, in the main from overseas travel.”
The First Minister said that the travel sector receive support “until we are able to ease restrictions”, adding later: “The price of greater domestic normality is likely to be not going on holiday overseas.”
