Coronavirus cases among school pupils 'inevitable', says First Minister
A rise in the number of pupils contracting Covid-19 is inevitable, Nicola Sturgeon has said.
The First Minister spoke about the clusters of the virus across the country, including those affecting schools, at the Scottish Government's coronavirus briefing in Edinburgh on Tuesday.
She stressed the importance of keeping schools open as the harms of children losing out in an education are "considerable''.
"But we will inevitably I think see more cases which involve school pupils in the weeks and months ahead,'' she said.
"In those cases, as has happened in the ones that I've mentioned today, contact tracers will identify if other students or staff at schools need to isolate and will let them and their parents know.''
She also stressed current cases are community clusters with impact on schools rather than school-based clusters.
Speaking about the clusters across Scotland, she added: "Though I don't want to alarm anybody, I do want people to take notice - in fact I need people to take notice.
"These clusters show us that these virus continue to pose a serious risk.''
The latest Covid-19 figures show 19,407 people have tested positive for the virus in Scotland, up 49 from the day before.
This includes clusters in Aberdeen, Greater Glasgow and Clyde, Lanarkshire and Tayside.
On Monday, Renfrewshire Council said a case has been confirmed at Todholm Primary School in Paisley, while two cases have been detected in pupils in Perth and Kinross.
Cases have also affected Bannerman High School in Baillieston, Glasgow; Caldervale High School in Airdrie, and St Ambrose High School and St Andrew's High School, both in Coatbridge.
Addressing the clusters across Scotland, the First Minister said 220 confirmed cases in the NHS Grampian area are linked to the outbreak in Aberdeen pubs, up from 207 on Monday.
In recent days, Ms Sturgeon said, there has been a decline in the number of cases in Aberdeen, suggesting restrictions put in place are having an impact, although new cases are higher in the NHS Grampian area than in the rest of the country.
Despite the improving numbers, the First Minister said it is too early to say if the measures in Aberdeen will be lifted on Wednesday when they are reviewed.
Ms Sturgeon also said the outbreak discovered in Coupar Angus on Monday has nine confirmed cases, although she will be "very surprised'' if the figure does not increase in the coming days.
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