Coronavirus - Children and Education in Scotland

6th November 2021

Schools resumed in Scotland by the week ending 20 August and
universities resumed by end of September. The majority of children and young people have returned to full time education. Throughout October schools have been on half-term holidays, which may have an effect on testing.

The total number of Covid-19 cases in young people aged under 22
has levelled off over the last week (4,567 cases recorded in the week to 24 October compared to 4,583 cases in the week ending 31 October).

7 day case rates per 100,000 have levelled off amongst all ages, except for 12-15 year olds, in the week ending 31 October (Figure 7). The percentage of cases made up of children under 12 was 60.4% (2,768 cases) in the week to 31 October, a slight increase from the previous week25. The percentage of cases made up of 18-21 year olds was 10% (458 cases) in the week to 31 October which is unchanged from the week ending 24 October. Following the return of universities, there is no evidence of an uptick in cases in the 18-21 year age group.

The rate of testing increased amongst those aged 2-4, 5-11, and 18-19, decreased or remained the same amongst other age groups in the week ending 31 October. Test positivity rates have decreased in age groups 5-11 and 12-15, however increased or plateaued in other age groups in the same period. In the week ending 31 October, the proportion of positive cases who report having been in an education setting in the 7 day period prior to the onset of symptoms has increased to 13.1%, compared to 7.8% in the week ending 24 October. Hospital admissions (3 week rolling average) in children and young adults decreased amongst all age groups, except for 0-1 year olds, in the period 7-27 October compared to the previous three-week period (30 September - 20 October).

Vaccine uptake in 17-21 year olds as at 25 October was 79.9% for the first dose and 61.1% for the second dose26. Please note that under half of Scottish students are in this age category and only Scottish students (i.e. registered with a GP in Scotland) are included in the figures. Covid-19 infection survey estimated that up to the week beginning 27 September 2021, the percentage of 16-24 year olds in the community population in Scotland testing positive for antibodies increased to 95.4%.

Read the full report HERE