Sturgeon aiming to maximise face-to-face teaching
There were no new deaths in Scotland in the last 24 hours among those with confirmed Covid-19, according to Nicola Sturgeon.
Overall there were just 29 new confirmed cases nationwide. The number of those in hospital with coronavirus fell by 94, while 3909 people have been able to be discharged since March 5.
That was news she described as being “hugely welcome and very encouraging” but underlined that fewer deaths were reported at the weekend and more virus-related fatalities are expected.
The First Minister also spoke out about education and her insistence that the aim of the Scottish Government was to have the “maximum” amount of face-to-face teaching time for pupils when they return in August.
Ms Sturgeon said: “In relation to Covid-19, 29 new positive cases were confirmed in Scotland yesterday, a total of 870 patients are in hospital with confirmed or suspected Covid-19 – that represents a total decrease of 94 from yesterday but an increase of three in the number of confirmed cases in hospital.
“And I can confirm that since March 5 a total of 3909 patients who had tested positive and needed to go to hospital with the virus have been able to leave hospital.
“In the past 24 hours no deaths were registered of any patients confirmed through a test as having Covid-19 so the total number of deaths in Scotland under that measurement therefore remains at 2448.
“This is clearly hugely welcome and very encouraging. It is nevertheless common for a fewer deaths to be reported at weekends and unfortunately I do expect that we will almost certainly report further Covid-19 deaths in the days ahead.
“The main issue I want to talk about is school education and I want to address parents and young people very directly today.
“I want to be clear about some of the principles that we are working on and the Scottish Government’s expectations as we start to look forward to the new school year.
“I hope to leave you no doubt about the priority that I and the whole government attaches to making sure that our young people do not lose out on education or have their life chances damaged as a result of this crisis that we are living through.
“It is our expectation that by August 11, obviously with the necessary safety guidelines, councils will have put in place arrangements that absolutely maximise the time that young people spend in a school environment having face-to-face learning.
“In this period right now, the Scottish Government will be scrutinising council plans very closely and where we conclude that all possible steps have not been taken to maximise face-to-face teaching and learning we will ask councils to reconsider and revise the plans.”