Coronavirus: Some Scottish schools close for deep clean

Hazlehead Academy in Aberdeen is one of the schools affected by the coronavirus outbreak

A number of schools across Scotland have been closed due to coronavirus outbreaks.

Hazlehead Academy in Aberdeen, Dunblane High School and Perth High School closed for deep cleans after being linked to people with virus.

A handful of schools in the Highlands, Argyll and Bute, Angus, East Ayrshire and East Renfrewshire were also shut.

In Shetland all schools except Fair Isle, Fetlar and Foula primary schools will be closed for a week.

First Minister Nicola Sturgeon has said the current advice was not to close schools "on a blanket basis".

It comes after a number of universities told students not to go to their campuses.

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The latest figures show there are 171 confirmed cases of the virus in Scotland, with one death.

People with a high temperature or a new, persistent cough are being asked to isolate themselves for seven days.

In other developments:

• Six cases of Covid-19 have been confirmed at a care home in North Lanarkshire

• Elderly people could be asked to reduce social contact, but they will not be told to isolate themselves unless they are ill

• The Scottish government has issued guidance advising that events involving more than 500 people should be cancelled

• BP will avoid transporting offshore workers via Shetland, instead flying them directly from Aberdeen

• Kelso races will be held behind closed doors

• Scottish Health Secretary Jeane Freeman is seeking to double the number of intensive care beds in Scotland

• Inverness Highland Games which were scheduled to take place on 18 July have been cancelled

• The Scotland women's rugby player who had contracted coronavirus has now been released from hospital

• Road cycling event Etape Loch Ness has been postponed from April until 13 September

• Glasgow University cancels its Outlander Conference Glasgow 2020 and the Edwin Morgan 100 Conference

• Robert Gordon University in Aberdeen will suspend on-campus teaching from 09:00 on Tuesday

• The University of the Highlands, a network of 13 colleges and research centres, will suspend face-to-face teaching from 17:00 on Friday

• The British Pipe Band Championships - which was set to take place on 23 May in Paisley - will not go ahead, Renfrewshire Council has confirmed.

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First Minister Nicola Sturgeon has said closing schools will not necessarily be a "binary choice".

She said schools and local authorities may find themselves in a different position in different parts of the country.

Ms Sturgeon said she would hope to give people notice of any "blanket school closures", but added that this was a "rapidly changing situation".

Tiree High School and Dervaig Primary on Mull are closed for cleaning until Wednesday following a suspected case of Covid-19 in each of the schools.

Hazlehead Academy in Aberdeen closed for a day after one pupil was confirmed with the virus. A second case is suspected. The council said the school would reopen on Tuesday.

Parents have been told that "precautionary cleaning" will take place during the shutdown.

Glashieburn Primary School in nearby Bridge of Don was also shut after a pupil tested positive for the virus. It will also reopen on Tuesday.

A pupil at Dunblane High School has also tested positive, Stirling Council said.

Staff and pupils were advised to remain at home while a deep clean took place. The school will reopen on Tuesday.

Perth High School has been closed as a precaution

Perth and Kinross Council said an individual linked to Perth High School had symptoms of coronavirus.

A statement on the school's Twitter account said: "They have not been tested but as a precaution we will be conducting a deep clean of the school.

"This will take three days and the school will reopened to pupils on Thursday."

Dunblane High School was being deep-cleaned on Sunday night

In Tain in the Highlands Knockbreck and Craighill primary schools have been closed after a pupil and a member of staff fell ill over the weekend.

Highland Council said there was no evidence that it was related to coronavirus and the decision was taken as a precautionary measure.

Parents of pupils at Isobel Mair School and Nursery in Newton Mearns have been told it will reopen as soon as possible after a case of the virus was linked to the school.

Angus Council said Murroes Primary would be closed on Monday and Tuesday "in order to undertake a deep clean after a suspected positive case of coronavirus (Covid-19) related to the school".

Willowbank School in Kilmarnock - a specialist school for children with complex needs - is closed for 48 hours, according to East Ayrshire Council.

They said it was a precautionary measure to safeguard the wellbeing of staff and pupils.

Meanwhile in Shetland, where there have been 11 confirmed cases in a population of of about 23,000, most schools will be closed for the week.

Shetland Islands Council's children's services director, Helen Budge, said the decision was taken for resilience, rather than public health reasons.

"We are already seeing significant levels of pupil and staff absence," she said.

"We realise that this will have an impact on working parents and carers but hope that they will understand and support this decision."