Number of coronavirus cases in Borders up to eight as Scotland-wide death toll doubles to six

An update issued by the Scottish Government today, March 19, reveals that eight cases of the disease, also known as Covid-19, have been diagnosed in the region, up from seven yesterday.

They are among 266 people this side of the border to have tested positive for the illness and 2,626 across the UK.

The death toll claimed by Covid-19 in Scotland has doubled since yesterday, rising from three to six, and the number of fatalities attributable to the virus UK-wide now stands at 103.

Scottish first minister Nicola Sturgeon announced yesterday that all schools and nurseries in Scotland would be closed until further notice from tomorrow, March 20, in an effort to curb the spread of the disease, and deputy first minister John Swinney gave further details of that move to fellow MSPs at Holyrood today.

Mr Swinney, also education secretary, told the Scottish Parliament: “Responding to the coronavirus pandemic is a matter of the greatest national importance, and the scale of the challenge in front of us is truly without precedent.

“Every aspect of our national life has been affected by this crisis, and sustaining our education system has been at the forefront of my mind.

“My priorities are to ensure the health and wellbeing of our children, young people and staff, and to maintain teaching and learning wherever this is possible, guided by the advice of the chief medical officer and public health experts.

“Scientific advice now highlights that closing schools will help to suppress the spread of coronavirus.

”Teaching, learning and support will continue, albeit in different ways for different groups of children.

“For the majority, this will be through distance learning and online learning, with different forms of ongoing contact with teachers rather than in school face to face.

“Teachers, and other staff who are well, will continue to be working.

“I now wish to turn to the 2020 exam diet.

“In all of our history, Scotland has never cancelled the exams. Since 1888, they have been held every May or June without fail.

“In the midst of two world wars, the exams went ahead.

“It is a measure of the gravity of the challenge we now face that I must today announce the exams will not go ahead this year.

“I am aware of how significant a step this is. Indeed, it is an unprecedented one in unprecedented times.

“Scotland’s exam diet has never been cancelled before.

“Whilst the protection of life is our overriding priority here, we must do our utmost to ensure that the interests and life chances of our young people, due to sit exams from the end of April, are protected.

“Their achievements must be rightly and fairly recognised. I want the 2020 cohort to hold their heads high and gain the qualifications and awards that they deserve after many years of hard work.

“I know they will be very worried by the situation they face, and I want them to be assured we are doing all that we can to deliver the best outcome for them.

“Scotland’s chief examining officer, Fiona Robertson, has advised me that, with the support of the wider education system, a credible certification model can be put in place that can command confidence in the absence of the exam diet to ensure that young people in our schools and colleges who, through no fault of their own, are unable to sit exams are not in any way disadvantaged.

“I anticipate that this model will use coursework, teacher assessments of estimated grades and prior attainment as the basis of certification.

“I understand that people will naturally want clarity on how long this will last for and when the education system will return to full provision.

“The truth is that, at this stage, we cannot know.

“People should not assume schools and nurseries will reopen after Easter. They may not be able to do so before the summer break. We will keep this under constant review.

“Now will be a time when we must pull together and harness the strength of our local communities and the various professional groups who support children and families across Scotland.

“Continuation of education, and continuation of the health and wellbeing for our children and young people, should be at the centre of all that we do.

“We need our teachers and our education workforce more than ever over the weeks and months ahead, and I am confident that they will rise to the challenge with determination, creativity and, above all, with the interests of the children and young people who need them most at heart.”

Scottish Borders Council chief executive Tracey Logan added: “We have been continuing to plan for the closure of schools and how we can best deliver education for our children for the foreseeable future.

“We are also confirming how we cater for our more vulnerable young people and children of key workers.

“These plans are already at an advanced stage, but over the weekend we will announce full details through our Groupcall system for parents, the council’s website, www.scotborders.gov.uk/coronavirus, and our social media channels.

“I want to reassure everyone that we are doing all we can to deliver the best learning possible for our young people in these uncertain times.”

Until today, the figure of seven cases of Covid-19 diagnosed in the Borders had remained static since going up from five on Sunday.

It is now eight days since the first two cases of the illness were confirmed in the region, with that figure going up to three on Friday, five on Saturday, then seven the day after.