New level three restrictions came into force in Lanarkshire this morning meaning a number of changes for residents and businesses to deal with.
One key area of the Scottish Government’s plan is to keep schools open and the precautions needed to do so.
Education secretary John Swinney announced new guidance on wearing face coverings in schools on Friday that would come to effect today (November 2) and here we round up all the advice on wearing a face coverings to keep staff and pupils safe.
Mr Swinney said that for schools in a level three area, from today, all staff and pupils should wear a face covering in classrooms during lessons in the senior phase.
That means S4, S5 and S6 pupils in Lanarkshire will all need to wear face coverings pretty much all the time when they are in school.
At the daily briefing in Edinburgh, Mr Swinney said: “The evidence suggests there is slightly higher infection and transmission risks for people around the age of 16 to 17 so the use of face coverings is an additional precautionary measure in areas where there is increased incidence of the virus.”
He added: “It is vital that all the measures are followed rigorously in schools.
“Doing that – together with the collective efforts of all of us across wider society – will help to ensure that schools can safely remain open.”
All other pupils will still need to wear face coverings on school transport and in corridors when moving around the school as they have been used to for last two months but they won’t need to wear a mask in class.
Staff in primary schools in Tier level 3 and 4 are also required to wear a face covering during the school day, in class, corridors, staffrooms and whenever 2m distancing cannot be kept.
Adults are also required to wear a face covering when waiting outside schools at the start and end of the day.
Part of the rationale is based on advice from the World Health Organisation around transmission rates in different age groups.
Children aged five and under should not be required to wear masks but the use of masks by children aged six to 11 is dependent on a number of factors according to the WHO.
However, WHO also say that children aged 12 and over should wear a mask under the same conditions as adults, particularly where there is widespread transmission in the area.
As a result, the new guidance has been brought in for areas placed in level three and four such as Lanarkshire.
When case numbers begin to fall in the region and the government decide it’s safe to move to level two, senior pupils would no longer be required to wear a mask in class.
