Coronavirus in Scotland: Testing to rise & pupil face coverings

Summary

Testing capacity will be increased, including the introduction of three new mobile units
Scottish secondary school pupils will have to wear face coverings in corridors, communal areas and school buses from 31 August
The number of positive cases overnight was 44 - seven were in the Tayside area
Nicola Sturgeon says that she is not unduly concerned about Scotland's clusters, but she is also not complacent
The GMB Scotland union is calling for routine on-site coronavirus testing of school staff in Scotland
Scotland continues to have no new deaths linked to a coronavirus positive test

Live Reporting

BBC Scotland News

Guidance on face coverings in schools just publishedpublished at 12:06 British Summer Time 25 August 2020
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Coronavirus in Scotland: The headlinespublished at 12:00 British Summer Time 25 August 2020
Image source, Getty Images
Image caption,
Education Secretary John Swinney will be asked about the decision on face coverings in schools during topical questions from 2.05pm
If you're just joining us here are the headlines today:
- Scottish secondary school pupils will have to wear face coverings in corridors, communal areas and school buses from next Monday 31 August
- The GMB Scotland union is calling for routine on-site coronavirus testing of school staff in Scotland
- Testing for Covid-19 has been hit by 'exceptional demand' and 'technical hitches' says the first minister
- The number of positive cases linked to the 2 Sisters processing plant in Coupar Angus has risen to 152
- A growing number of cases of Covid-19 have been confirmed among pupils and staff at Scottish schools - find out where here
Testing hit by 'exceptional demand' and 'technical hitches'published at 11:54 British Summer Time 25 August 2020
Image source, Getty Images
The Covid-19 testing system has been hit by "exceptional demand" which has seen some people in Scotland only offered tests in England.
Nicola Sturgeon has said she was aware of "possible technical issues" with the UK-wide online booking system.
It has led to some people in Glasgow and the central belt being directed as far afield as Penrith in Cumbria.
The problems have been highlighted after positive coronavirus tests at schools in Glasgow and Lanarkshire.
BBC Scotland has also been contacted by Glasgow parents who said the closest test centre made available to them was in Stranraer.
- Read more here
- GMB Scotland union calls for on-site testing of school staff
Where am I supposed to get a face covering?published at 11:50 British Summer Time 25 August 2020
The government has been careful to use the term "face covering" rather than "face mask" - with surgical masks kept for medical use.
The BBC has created a guide on how to make your own face covering. Here is the Scottish government guidance on face coverings, external, which will shortly be updated to include schools. The UK government has issued its own advice, external too.
High school pupils in Scotland to wear face coverings from 31 Augustpublished at 11:40 British Summer Time 25 August 2020
Image source, PA Media
Scottish secondary school pupils will have to wear face coverings in corridors, communal areas and school buses from next Monday.
Education Secretary John Swinney told BBC Radio Scotland the new guidance would apply to all pupils aged over 12.
He said the guidance would be updated based on new advice from the World Health Organization (WHO).
There will no requirement to wear face coverings in classrooms where social distancing measures are in place.
- WHO says children over 12 should wear masks
- Is it safe for Scotland's schools to reopen?
Mr Swinney said individual exemptions could be granted for health reasons, but the guidance would be "obligatory" for all secondary, special and grant-aided schools.
He told the BBC's Good Morning Scotland programme: "From August 31st young people over the age of 12 in secondary schools should habitually wearing face coverings when they are moving around schools and corridors and in communal areas where it is difficult to deliver the physical distancing, which is an inherent part of the guidance the education recovery group has put in place."
- Read more here
Masks in schools 'not a blanket intervention' - WHOpublished at 11:36 British Summer Time 25 August 2020
Image caption,
Dr Margaret Harris from the WHO said masks could help prevent transmission, but were not right for every situation
Scotland says its decision to mandate mask use in shared spaces in schools is driven by World Health Organization guidance, but in England there is no such advice to head teachers. So what does the WHO really recommend?
WHO spokeswoman Dr Margaret Harris told BBC Breakfast that “different places need to negotiate what works for them and their community”.
She said that masks needed to be used "strategically” along with other measures such as social distancing, hygiene and ventilation. Children also needed to be shown how to use masks safely - to be taught to wash their hands before putting them on or removing them, and given a bag to keep them in.
While children aren't seen as a "major source of transmission", the data shows infections are increasingly being passed on between young people and in some places they have been the "drivers" of outbreaks.
As some parents' groups raise concerns about the impact of mandatory mask use on children with autism, hearing impairments or asthma, Dr Harris said these issues needed to be taken "very, very seriously" and were the reason face coverings were "not a blanket intervention".
Good morningpublished at 09:43 British Summer Time 25 August 2020
Good morning and welcome to BBC Scotland's live page coverage of the coronavirus pandemic on Tuesday 25 August 2020.
We've already learned this morning that Scottish secondary school pupils will have to wear face coverings in corridors, communal areas and school buses from next Monday.
Education Secretary John Swinney told BBC Radio Scotland the new guidance would apply to all pupils aged over 12.