A rise in the number of pupils contracting Covid-19 is inevitable, Nicola Sturgeon has said.
The First Minister spoke about the clusters of the virus across the country, including those affecting schools, at the Scottish Government's coronavirus briefing in Edinburgh on Tuesday.
She stressed the importance of keeping schools open as the harms of children losing out in an education are "considerable".
"But we will inevitably I think see more cases which involve school pupils in the weeks and months ahead," she said.
A case has been identified at the Todholm Primary School in Paisley (Image: Google Maps)
"In those cases, as has happened in the ones that I've mentioned today, contact tracers will identify if other students or staff at schools need to isolate and will let them and their parents know."
She also stressed current cases are community clusters with impact on schools rather than school-based clusters.
Nicola Sturgeon also stressed current cases are community clusters with impact on schools rather than school-based clusters (Image: Publicity Picture)
Speaking about the clusters across Scotland, she added: "Though I don't want to alarm anybody, I do want people to take notice - in fact I need people to take notice.
"These clusters show us that these virus continue to pose a serious risk."
The latest Covid-19 figures show 19,407 people have tested positive for the virus in Scotland, up 49 from the day before.
This includes clusters in Aberdeen, Greater Glasgow and Clyde, Lanarkshire and Tayside.
It comes after a pupil from Carntyne Primary, Glasgow, tested positive for the virus, while another case was identified at Wallace Primary School in Elderslie today.
On Monday, Renfrewshire Council also revealed a case has been confirmed at Todholm Primary School in Paisley, while two cases have been detected in pupils in Perth and Kinross.
Cases have also affected Bannerman High School in Baillieston, Glasgow; Caldervale High School in Airdrie; St Ambrose High School and St Andrew's High School, both in Coatbridge; and Kinspark School in Dundee.
Addressing the clusters across Scotland, the First Minister said 220 confirmed cases in the NHS Grampian area are linked to the outbreak in Aberdeen pubs, up from 207 on Monday.
In recent days, Sturgeon said, there has been a decline in the number of cases in Aberdeen, suggesting restrictions put in place are having an impact, although new cases are higher in the NHS Grampian area than in the rest of the country.
Despite the improving numbers, the First Minister said it is too early to say if the measures in Aberdeen will be lifted on Wednesday when they are reviewed.
First Minister Nicola Sturgeon (Image: PA)
Sturgeon also said the outbreak discovered in Coupar Angus on Monday has nine confirmed cases, although she will be "very surprised" if the figure does not increase in the coming days.
She said the 2 Sisters food processing plant is a "big workplace" with about 900 staff and evidence from other outbreaks shows the virus could spread "quite widely" in these conditions.
Top news stories today
The First Minister said: "Because we've seen food processing outbreaks in other parts of the UK, we have some lessons about how they were handled in other parts of the UK that we can try to apply here."
NHS Tayside later updated the figure to 10 confirmed cases with five people awaiting further investigation.
Warnings have been issued ahead of Storm Ellen which will move in from the Atlantic on Wednesday night.
The storm, which contains the remnants of Tropical Storm Kyle, will move into the west coast of Ireland late on Wednesday, bringing severe gales.
Towards Northern Ireland, gusts up to 80km/h (50mph) can be expected inland with even stronger gusts for coasts and higher ground.
A yellow weather warning for strong wind has been issued for NI.
The Met Office warning is in place from 20:00 BST on Wednesday until 00:00 BST on Thursday.
Heavy rain and possibly thunderstorms will move across all counties leading to very blustery conditions on Thursday.
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In the Republic of Ireland, the Irish Weather service, Met Éireann, has issued a "Status Orange" warning - the 2nd highest level - for wind for counties along the south and west coast.
The warning will be in place from 21:00 local time on Wednesday to 12:00 on Thursday.
A yellow warning has been issued for all other counties.
It says: "Due to the combination of storm surge, spring tides and onshore winds there is a potential risk of coastal flooding."
Met Éireann is also advising of further very wet and windy conditions on Friday.
Gusts up to 80km/h (50mph) are expected quite widely, again stronger for exposed coastal and high ground areas.
Calmer conditions are forecast over the coming weekend.
With many opting to holiday at home due to coronavirus, rescue organisations are urging those planning trips to the coast or mountains to pay heed to weather forecasts.
"The key thing is to know that when you go to a mountain environment that higher areas will exacerbate what's happening at lower levels," said Martin McMullan, rescue co-ordinator at Mourne Mountain Rescue Team.
"What's coming this week is potentially going to be some of the worst conditions that you could expect when walking in the mountains. It wouldn't be a day to go out.
"There will be poor visibility, stronger winds, heavier rain, and cooler temperatures.
"Everything is working against you.
"Some of the strongest gusts will coincide with high tides which could lead to very large waves along the coast."
Mr McMullan suggested those intending to go out look for alternative lower walks such as Silent Valley or Castlewellan, but to always be prepared.
Kevin Rahill of the RNLI advised that although stormy conditions may be tempting to watch "the sea is very dangerous and unpredictable and big waves can easily knock you off your feet".
"The sea is far more powerful than you think and your chances of survival are slim if you are dragged into the swell," said Mr Rahill.
"We understand why people want to experience extreme weather, but we strongly urge people to respect the water and watch from a safe distance.
"Around 150 people accidentally lose their lives around UK and Irish waters each year and over half of these people didn't plan on ever entering the water."
The education secretary has been urged to launch a review into the handling of A-level and GCSE results after exams were cancelled due to coronavirus.
A union for education leaders, such as head teachers, says it will write to Gavin Williamson over the "fiasco".
Mr Williamson apologised to students after reversing how A-levels and GCSEs are graded, following heavy criticism.
Meanwhile, pupils will get GCSE results on Thursday as planned, the Joint Council for Qualifications (JCQ) said.
The confirmation comes following confusion over how results day would run after the government U-turn.
Julie McCulloch, director of policy at the Association of School and College Leaders (ASCL), said the JCQ's confirmation would be a "great relief" to all concerned.
It has prompted concerns about the number of available places, with top universities warning that students who now have higher grades could still be asked to defer if there is no space left on their chosen course.
And uncertainty continues for students as the admissions service, Ucas, and individual universities have yet to be given access to the upgraded results.
Alistair Jarvis, chief executive of Universities UK, which represents vice-chancellors, said problems could arise around issues of "capacity, staffing, placements and facilities - particularly with the social distance measures in place".
Universities minister Michelle Donelan said she wanted to ensure any students who had accepted a "different course" than planned, as a result of being downgraded last week, should be able to "change their mind and to reverse that decision".
She said No 10 was working with universities to help "boost the capacity available" in order to "minimise the amount of students that will be looking to defer."
Senior Tory MP Huw Merriman suggested students could be compensated with reduced tuition fees.
"For the cohort coming up to university, I think it's all about making it up to them and saying 'we understand that you have been messed around over last week'," he told the BBC's PM programme.
Analysis
By Hannah Richardson, BBC education reporter
There is still doubt as to whether the education system will do right by the Class of Covid.
Will their chosen universities be able to accommodate them? Or have they given their degree place away already? Will they have to come back next year and fight it out with students who have missed even more school?
And for the first time since this ageing education journalist can remember, exam boards are not holding their usual mind-boggling briefing on GCSE results.
So for some time at least, there will be no details of how the nation has done in their general school certificate examinations.
Roll on the start of term - although that's uncertain, too.
The ASCL - which is writing the letter to Mr Williamson - said a review was urgently needed into "what went wrong" with the grading system.
"This degree of transparency is necessary at a time when public confidence has been badly shaken," said ASCL general secretary Geoff Barton.
Mr Barton also called on No 10 and Ofqual to put in place a "robust contingency plan" for students sitting GCSEs and A-levels next summer in the event of further coronavirus-related disruption.
How Gavin Williamson survived the U-turn
One former Conservative minister said he fully expects Gavin Williamson to be moved in any autumn reshuffle - that he has been given a reprieve by Downing Street, not exoneration.
He has to sort out the messy challenge of getting newly upgraded students in to universities then the tricky task of getting pupils in England back to school next month.
The partial return prior to the summer wasn't exactly smooth. So if Mr Williamson's performance in those areas falls short, then his current job is not safe in the long term.
But there are other reasons why he hasn't received a ministerial P45.
This is not an administration which does resignations. Boris Johnson is loyal to those who are loyal and useful to him.
The University and College Union (UCU) and National Union of Students (NUS) have also written to the education secretary, urging No 10 to help students who have missed out on their first-choice courses and calling for financial support for the higher education sector.
UCU general secretary Jo Grady said staff were facing "unbearable workloads" due to the fallout over exam results.
She added that "substantial financial support" was needed "so universities can protect all jobs, safely welcome students and continue to provide world class teaching and research".
And Ms Grady criticised Mr Williamson's decision to suspend a cap on student numbers for universities - effectively allowing institutions to accept unlimited numbers this year - because she said it meant "certain universities can hoover up students, hitting the finances of other institutions".
Despite the cap being suspended, some universities have said numbers will have to remain limited, particularly on vocational courses such as medicine and dentistry.
Ucas was unable to say how many students had not been able to take up places due to their results being downgraded.
Student stories: Frances and Zainab
Frances Ramos, 18, from Towcester, Northamptonshire, said she was pleased to be given her predicted grades of ABB - up from the BCD she received last Thursday.
But she said the U-turn "does feel like it's a bit too late" and added: "I kind of wish the government had done this on Thursday." She is now waiting to hear if her first choice, the University of Liverpool, will accept her to study this year.
Zainab Ali, 18, from London, also thought the government should have acted sooner. "I think it's a shame. After the damage is done, that's when they will take action and I find it quite frustrating," she said.
The U-turn should now mean Zainab is able to attend Queen Mary University, London.
Mr Williamson said it had been the common view of the government, exams regulator Ofqual, and the devolved administrations in Wales and Northern Ireland - of different political parties - that the system in place was more robust and "significantly better" than that in Scotland, after an earlier U-turn in Scotland.
But after the release of A-level results on Thursday he said it had become "increasingly apparent that there were too many young people that quite simply hadn't got the grade they truly deserved".
Ofqual's algorithm came under fire after data showed its downgrading of about 40% of A-level grades in England had affected state schools more than private institutions.
Ministers in England, Northern Ireland and Wales all decided on Monday - four days after A-level results were issued - to revert to teacher assessed grades rather than the algorithm.
The U-turn means teachers' assessments will also be used for all GCSE results - except for any students for whom the algorithm gives a higher grade.
Exam board Pearson, which awards BTecs, has said students' results that were adjusted downwards through the awarding process - only about 0.5% of the teachers' grades - will be reviewed on a "case-by-case basis" with their colleges.
A Pearson spokeswoman added it was aware of delays in some students getting their results and was working with schools and colleges to provide any that were outstanding as soon as possible.
11 August: Gavin Williamson announced A-level students would be able to use their results in mock tests to appeal if they are unhappy with the grades they are given, calling it a "safety net". Earlier in the day Scotland's government decided to switch to teachers' predicted grades
12 August: Nick Gibb, schools minister for England, acknowledged the government was "concerned" about what had happened in Scotland but insisted the system in England remained "robust"
Thursday 13 August (results day): Mr Williamson ruled out following the Scottish government in reversing position, telling Sky News: "You've got to have a system that has checks and balances". Prime Minister Boris Johnson said the results were a "robust set of grades"
Saturday: Mr Williamson told the Times there would be "no U-turn" on the grading system, saying Scotland had ended up with "a system where there aren't any controls" and had "rampant grade inflation"
Sunday: Mr Williamson defended Ofqual's grading method in the Sunday Express, saying the calculated grade "makes certain that everyone can be confident that these qualifications carry the same weight as previous years"
Monday: Mr Williamson announces a move to teacher-assessed grades for A-levels and GCSES saying "we now believe it is better"
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EDUCATION Secretary Gavin Williamson is facing calls to resign from his own party following his chaotic exam grades u-turn.
Williamson had to apologise and promise A level and GCSE grades based on teacher estimates rather than his computerised system which downgraded results.
Angry Tory MPs said the “utter shambles” had shattered confidence in the Government and called for Mr Williamson to be sacked.
England ditched the A-level and GCSE results' algorithm in favour of teachers' scores.
The system came under heavy scrutiny last week after many students saw their grades reduced significantly - meaning some missed out on university places.
And now in a u-turn, youngsters will be able to use either the teacher scores, the algorithm or the centre-assessed results, depending on which is the highest.
Meanwhile, for those leaving secondary school, results day will remain on Thursday, and they will be getting their best scores.
Follow our GCSE and A-level live blog for all the latest news and updates...
The career aspirations of many teenagers were delivered a blow last week when 40% of A level results in England were downgraded from teachers' assessments.
So why are the career prospects of Gavin Williamson - the education secretary who presided over what even some usually supportive newspapers have described as a "farce" or a "humiliation" - not in tatters?
It's not just some students, teachers and parents who are scratching their heads over this question - but some Conservative MPs too.
One of them said to me: "Any minister who makes children cry is not in a good place."
Another pointed out that he had plenty of time to prepare for how students should be assessed - exams were cancelled five months ago, on 18 March.
Yet Downing Street maintains the prime minister has full confidence in Gavin Williamson.
Why?
One reason is that he has a "human shield," in the form of England's exam regulator, Ofqual.
Right questions, wrong answers?
The case for the Williamson defence is, essentially, that he was asking the right questions of the regulator but was getting the wrong answers.
It should be said that it was the education secretary himself who decided in March that he did not want to see "grade inflation" as a result of teachers' assessments - and that this year's results would have to be "moderated" or "standardised".
Mr Williamson claims that the principle of "moderation" was widely accepted - and that in more normal times there would always be pupils who failed to meet teachers' expectations in real exams.
The Department for Education argues that there was also widespread consultation over the criteria Ofqual would deploy when standardising the grades.
So the only issue was how that standardisation would be conducted rather than any debate over whether it was right in principle.
Alarm bells
Alarm bells about the effects of standardisation were loudly rung by the cross-party education committee - under the chairmanship of Conservative MP Rob Halfon - on 11 July.
Committee members called for more transparency over the algorithm Ofqual was using to standardise grades - and demanded that it be published immediately to allow for proper scrutiny.
The algorithm was not made public until last Thursday.
The committee also warned that Ofqual's model "does not appear to include any mechanism to identify whether groups such as Black and Minority Ethnic (BAME), Free School Meal eligible pupils, children looked after, and pupils with special educational needs have been systematically disadvantaged by calculated grades".
Gavin Williamson's allies say he took these concerns seriously.
Schools minister Nick Gibb and education department officials met the senior figures at Ofqual on 16 July and pressed for clarification on how the algorithm would impact pupils from disadvantaged backgrounds and from ethnic minority communities.
Officials maintain that the correct questions were asked and that they received assurances that those from disadvantaged backgrounds would not be adversely affected.
One insider said that the education secretary can probe Ofqual on its methods but can't, of course, design an algorithm himself.
But Mr Williamson was aware that the algorithm's use was likely to throw up "hard cases" and "outliers" - rather than masses of students - who would not get the grades they deserved.
So the education secretary focussed on improving the appeals system and, ultimately, ensuring that it was free to use, officials say.
Ofqual have yet to respond to inquiries about the meeting.
An appealing system?
In its July report, the education committee said: 'We are extremely concerned that pupils will require evidence of bias or discrimination to raise a complaint about their grades.
"It is unrealistic and unfair to put the onus on pupils to have, or to be able to gather, evidence of bias or discrimination. Such a system also favours more affluent pupils and families with resources and knowledge of the system."
Education department insiders maintain that Mr Williamson - who went to a comprehensive school - was determined to inject fairness in to the system and create a robust (one of his favourite words) safety net to catch anyone caught out by the system.
Indeed, there was still wrangling going on between Ofqual and the department as recently as last weekend over further changes to the process.
Ofqual guidance on how to appeal was removed from its website around eight hours after it first appeared.
And they say that it became apparent only in the past few days that the appeals system, however "robust", could not deal with the potential scale of the problem.
An analysis by Ofqual's Scottish equivalent - the SQA - showed that pupils from deprived backgrounds were subjected to higher rates of downgrading than those who were better-off.
Scottish education secretary John Swinney insisted that the SQA standardisation model was fair - but that he was now moving to teacher assessments because of the "anguish" some pupils had experienced.
Gavin Williamson's allies say that he sought assurances from Ofqual that the problems the Scottish system had highlighted would not affect England - and, once again, he received assurances that this was the case.
Only when the results came out on Thursday did the outcome begin to look rather too familiar.
Initially, it was assumed there were rather a lot of "outliers" and only subsequently was it established that the algorithm itself was flawed.
Over the weekend, there was an internal debate at the DfE over whether the algorithm could be improved, or whether teachers' assessments would have to be accepted after all.
Neither solution was ideal.
What seems to have swung it is that fixing the algorithm would have led to a delay to this week's GCSE's results.
This was not something Downing Street wanted to see.
I'm told that by the time the education secretary and the prime minister spoke - by phone - on Monday morning, they were, metaphorically at least, "in the same place".
It would have to be teacher assessments as the least worst option, and the announcement would be made later that day.
The case for the prosecution
What is frustrating some Conservative MPs is not the U-turn itself, but the time it took to put into action.
Some privately accuse the education secretary of not being robust enough in interrogating Ofqual earlier in the process.
Some wonder why offers from the Royal Statistical Society to help with the modelling in April weren't accepted.
But what is agitating most of the education secretary's internal critics is that it took nearly a week for the U-turn in Scotland to be repeated in England.
They feel Gavin Williamson dug himself in to a hole by denouncing so strongly the actions of the Scottish government, highlighting the "unfairness" of taking teachers' predictions solely as the basis for results.
This was, arguably, a failure of the education secretary's political antennae.
Even if the Ofqual algorithm did not discriminate against the most disadvantaged, it should have been possible, critics maintain, to anticipate that the protests and parades of disappointed students in Scotland would be repeated in England, given that a similar scale of downgrading was to take place.
The perception that a government committed to "levelling up" the nation was downgrading bright students from underperforming schools was toxic.
And some MPs are questioning why, in the Times, as recently as Saturday Gavin Williamson was praising what was "a fair and robust system for the overwhelming majority of students".
And declaring there would be "no U-turn, no change".
And on Sunday, when internal debates over accepting teachers' assessments and abandoning the option of fixing the algorithm were very active - why was he apparently defending "the calculated grade overseen by Ofqual", in the Express newspaper.
A former minister with a background in education told me that because the education secretary had nailed his colours so firmly to a teetering mast, it was "inevitable" that he would have to go.
But it seems nothing is inevitable in politics.
Boris Johnson himself is not seen as devoid of blame by some of his own MPs.
Last Thursday, the prime minister was also defending the "robust" system of assessment in England.
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As one MP put it, "the captain of the ship was too hands off".
Indeed - for some - that captain changed direction as though he were on the bridge of an oil tanker, when what was required was the swift launching of the lifeboats.
How safe is Williamson's job?
One former Conservative minister said he fully expects Gavin Williamson to be moved in any autumn reshuffle - that he has been given a reprieve by Downing Street, not exoneration.
He has to sort out the messy challenge of getting newly upgraded students in to universities then the tricky task of getting pupils in England back to school next month.
The partial return prior to the summer wasn't exactly smooth.
So if Mr Williamson's performance in those areas falls short, then his current job is not safe in the long term.
But there are other reasons why he hasn't received a ministerial P45.
This is not an administration which does resignations.
Boris Johnson is loyal to those who are loyal and useful to him.
And Gavin Williamson has been helpful to Boris Johnson behind the scenes - as he was to Theresa May until he was sacked, and got behind Mr Johnson's leadership bid.
A former chief whip, his reputation as a minister may have suffered but not his abilities as a fixer.
No 10 may want to retain him inside the tent.
But he also has some cover in the current controversy.
He U-turned - but so too did the SNP administration in Edinburgh, the Labour-led administration in Cardiff and the power-sharing DUP/Sinn Fein executive in Belfast.
As is important in times of personal crisis, he is not alone.
The question is whether the exams saga has predominantly dented Mr Williamson's credibility - or that of the entire government.
With a majority of eighty and probably four years until the next election, that's not a question to which Boris Johnson needs an immediate answer.
EDUCATION Secretary Gavin Williamson is facing calls to resign from his own party following his chaotic exam grades u-turn.
Williamson had to apologise and promise A level and GCSE grades based on teacher estimates rather than his computerised system which downgraded results.
Angry Tory MPs said the “utter shambles” had shattered confidence in the Government and called for Mr Williamson to be sacked.
England ditched the A-level and GCSE results' algorithm in favour of teachers' scores.
The system came under heavy scrutiny last week after many students saw their grades reduced significantly - meaning some missed out on university places.
And now in a u-turn, youngsters will be able to use either the teacher scores, the algorithm or the centre-assessed results, depending on which is the highest.
Meanwhile, for those leaving secondary school, results day will remain on Thursday, and they will be getting their best scores.
Follow our GCSE and A-level live blog for all the latest news and updates...
Public Health England (PHE) is being scrapped as part of plans for a new organisation responsible for dealing with pandemics, the health secretary has announced.
Matt Hancock confirmed the decision reported over the weekend to set up a body called the National Institute for Health Protection, which will also work against the threats of biological weapons and infectious diseases.
From this week it will subsume parts of PHE, the Joint Biosecurity Centre and NHS Test and Trace, he said in a speech on Tuesday.
Image:Test and trace will also be merged into the new organisation
Tory peer Baroness Dido Harding, currently in charge of Whitehall's contact-tracing operation, will temporarily head the new body and lead the search for a permanent successor.
Given the number of people with coronavirusstill not being reached, one Liberal Democrat MP branded the appointment a "reward for failure".
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Image:Dido Harding will lead the National Institute for Health Protection
Mr Hancock said thepandemic had "shone a light on our public health system" and that he has "learned a lot about... what needs to change".
But he paid tribute to public health experts' "incredible work" and commended PHE's research as "some of the best that's been done" into COVID-19.
More from Covid-19
The change is coming "to give ourselves the best chance of beating this virus once and for all - and of spotting and being ready to respond to other health threats, now and in the future", Mr Hancock explained.
He added it was happening while the latest number of daily infections stands at just over 700 because "if something is the right thing to do then putting off the change is usually the wrong thing to do".
'We must strengthen our response' - Hancock
It follows several reports that ministers have been frustrated with the way PHE has dealt with the coronavirus crisis.
According to the latest government statistics, 41,369 people have died across the UK with coronavirus, and the Office for National Statistics found England had the highest excess death rate in Europe over the first half of 2020.
Image:41,369 people have died across the UK with the virus
Labour's shadow health secretary Jon Ashworth said scrapping PHE was "desperate blame-shifting".
"A structural reorganisation mid-pandemic is time consuming, energy sapping; it's risky, indeed irresponsible," he tweeted.
"And what an insulting way to treat hard-working staff who heard about this from a paywalled Sunday newspaper leaving them with questions and worries about their jobs.
"The shift we need is towards a local test and trace system that delivers mass testing, finds cases, uses local expertise to trace and supports people to isolate with security."
Image:Opposition MPs say contact tracing must be improved urgently
Richard Murray, head of the King's Fund health think tank, also said PHE "appears to have been found guilty without a trial" and it is "unclear what problem government are hoping to solve".
Questions also remain over what will happen to some of PHE's responsibilities not being taken over by its successor.
Image:PM Boris Johnson has promised an inquiry into the pandemic
The move will also fuel speculation Downing Street is preparing for the independent inquiry into the UK's pandemic response promised by Prime Minister Boris Johnson.
Layla Moran, a Lib Dem leadership contender, said the "lack of public scrutiny or transparent recruitment process" for promoting Baroness Harding was "appalling".
"Given we still don't have an effective test, trace and isolate system, this feels like a reward for failure," she added.
Mr Hancock defended promoting the former chief executive of TalkTalk in an interview after his speech.
He said she had "excellent experience" outside government and previously worked for the NHS so "her leadership will be vital in driving this forward".
Not all Conservatives will welcome the move to abolish PHE.
Former Tory health secretary Andrew Lansley told Sky News last month that those in his own party calling for it to be axed were making "criticism born of ignorance".
Image:Andrew Lansley dismissed calls to scrap PHE
"Public Health England is an agency of the Department of Health," he said. "The legislation, the law provides for direct control by the government, by the secretary of state of the activities of Public Health England.
"So not only does the secretary of state have all the required powers, he also has all the required control."
