Scottish Schools Will Remain Closed for ‘Foreseeable Future’

(Bloomberg) --

Scottish schools are likely to stay closed for the foreseeable future while the country's government assesses options for reopening the economy as it confronts the coronavirus pandemic.

“We are considering a phased approach to returning pupils to school, when it is safe to do so,” First Minister Nicola Sturgeon told reporters in Edinburgh on Tuesday. “We do not consider it likely that schools will reopen fully in the foreseeable future. Indeed, we are not yet certain that they can re-open at all in the near future.”

Scotland's semi-autonomous administration is responsible for education, health and other areas such as transportation and parts of the economy. The U.K. government has said it's looking at ways of getting kids back into school, though the academic year ends later in England. Sturgeon reiterated that she will diverge from U.K. plans for schools reopening if necessary.

Sturgeon, who expects the current lockdown restrictions to be extended when they are reviewed on May 7, said she's seen evidence that the so-called R number, which shows the reproduction rate of the virus, is slightly higher in Scotland than the rest of the U.K.

“It is vital that we keep this number below one,” Sturgeon said. “If we do not, the virus will run out of control again and any relaxation of lockdown restrictions will most likely have to be reversed.” The current R-number in Scotland is estimated at between 0.7 and one, she said.

Scotland last month broke with the U.K. government to set out what needs to happen before the nationwide lockdown imposed to limit the spread of the coronavirus can be lifted. The government in Edinburgh published an update to its thinking on Tuesday.