Covid infections are driving a fresh jump in pupil and teacher absences from school, figures show.
Signs that disruption to education is rising again will be particularly unwelcome in the secondary sector as S4-6 students prepare for this year’s exams – the first conventional diet since 2019.
They also come after a major row erupted over revision support material that was branded insulting, useless and unfair.
According to official statistics, 26,280 pupils were not in school for Covid-related reasons on March 8 – up sharply on the February 14 figure of 4,223.
READ MORE: Number in hospital up 88 per cent to exceed January peak
Although the increase in infections is greatest among primary school children, older learners are also being affected. The rate of positive Covid cases in the week ending March 6 was 1170.3 per 100,000 16- to 17-year-olds. This compares with 973.3 in the week ending February 20.
In addition, records show 4,676 school staff, including 2,788 teachers, were absent on March 8 because of Covid-linked factors. The number of teachers off with confirmed Covid or its symptoms is the highest since August 24 last year. The totals for February 22 were 3,282 and 2,036, respectively.
New government Covid statistics were published after the requirement to wear face coverings in Scottish classrooms was scrapped at the end of last month. Ministers hailed the step as a "positive milestone" for secondary pupils and staff. However, union bosses warned the change was being introduced too soon.
Rising Covid absence rates in schools mirror trends being seen across society more broadly.
This week it emerged the number of people with the illness in Scottish hospitals was higher than during the January Omicron peak.
READ MORE: Education super-agency will work to boost Scottish schools
Figures reported yesterday show there were 1,636 Covid-positive patients in wards, compared with 1,571 on January 19. This was up 88 per cent on the mid-February total of 868. The number in intensive care, at 22, is much lower but this has doubled from 11 on February 25.
Hospital admissions have been rising most rapidly among the over-75s, amid concerns that protection from vaccination boosters is now waning.
On Wednesday, Health Secretary Humza Yousaf warned on Twitter that rising case numbers "are concerning and a reminder that Covid is still with us”.
The fears come as scientists monitor the impact of the BA.2 “stealth” subvariant and a new, hybrid strain that has been dubbed “Deltacron”.
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