Schools in Scotland to reopen at 100% capacity from August - if virus stays suppressed

Scotland's education secretary has announced that schools in Scotland should prepare to reopen at full capacity from August - if coronavirus continues to be suppressed.

John Swinney says that current infection rates allow the Scottish Government to revise its plans, which had initially forced councils to make preparations for youngsters to return while maintaining 2m social distancing rules.

That would have meant some children only attending classes for half of their week, or less, and spending most of their time learning from home.

Mr Swinney says he could not have envisaged such an approach back in May, when infection rates and deaths were much higher.

But he says that enough progress has been made to allow them to reconsider.

He has also confirmed this would mean no physical distancing would be required in schools, though some safety measures would still be put in place.

However, he has warned that a "blended learning" model - with a combination of home and in-school learning - is still a contingency plan should there be another spike of the disease.

Mr Swinney told parliament: "Since May, because of the efforts of our fellow citizens to stay at home, we have seen Scotland make significant progress. There are now only 2,000 infectious people in Scotland - a reduction of almost 90% since May.

"There has been a sustained downward trend in Covid-19 deaths. Intensive care cases now stand at a fraction of what they were.

"If we stay on this trajectory, which cannot be taken for granted, by August the position will be even better. That is good news. That means we are now able to update our planning assumptions.

"If we stay on track, if we all continue to do what is right, and if we can further suppress this terrible virus, the government believes that we should prepare for children to return to school full-time in August."

Opposition parties accused Mr Swinney of a U-turn, saying he had bowed to pressure from parents, and criticised him for not revealing that these plans were under consideration earlier.