Nicola Sturgeon will remember Holyrood as schools may remain closed in January

The Prime Minister will meet with the Scottish Cabinet to consider tougher measures, including closing schools throughout this month and returning to a March-style lockdown.

The Holyrood president was asked to convene parliament for a statement from Ms Sturgeon on Monday afternoon.

Scotland has seen an increase of 2,464 new Covid-19 cases in the last 24 hours, more than Saturday’s confirmed increase of 2,137 new cases.

He comes with the Scottish government under great pressure for a return to school, as does the Prime Minister.

A Scottish government spokesman said: “The recent and rapid increase in COVID cases in Scotland, driven by the new variant of the virus, is a very serious concern.

“The even steeper increases and heavy pressure on the NHS being experienced in some other parts of the UK are a sign of what may happen in Scotland if we do not take all possible steps now to slow the spread of the virus, while the vaccination program is progressing.

Therefore, the Prime Minister has asked that Parliament be withdrawn from recess on Monday afternoon to allow it to make an urgent statement on further measures to suppress the broadcast.

“This will come after a Cabinet meeting on Monday morning. The Education Recovery Group will also meet on Monday.

“The strong message remains that people should stay home as much as possible and avoid nonessential interaction with others.”

In a series of tweets, the Prime Minister stated that the new variant was a “serious concern”.

She wrote: “The steep increases and severe pressure from the NHS being experienced in other parts of the UK are a sign of things to come.

“Therefore, we must take all measures to reduce the spread as vaccination progresses.

“We, like other countries, are in a race between this more rapidly spreading strain of Covid and the vaccination program.

“As we work to vaccinate as quickly as possible, we must also do more to curb the virus, to save lives and to help the NHS reach all those in need.

“Following a meeting of the Scottish Government resilience committee yesterday to assess the latest situation, the Cabinet will meet tomorrow morning to consider further actions to limit the spread and I have asked that the Scottish Parliament be called tomorrow afternoon to to be able to state our decisions in a sentence.

“All decisions at this time are difficult, with strong impacts. Vaccines give us a way out, but this new strain makes the period between now and then the most dangerous since the start of the pandemic.

“Therefore, the responsibility of the government must be to act quickly and decisively in the national interest.”

The schools were scheduled to fully reopen on January 18, a plan that has been kept under constant review.

The Scottish government is believed to have originally been looking for rapid tests in schools, but is now concerned that the new strain is spreading so fast that it would not be enough.

Most of the country is already at level four restrictions, including all of mainland Scotland and Skye, with the other islands at level three.

Earlier today, the Prime Minister insisted that schools in England were “safe” but refused to rule out further action.

Johnson said he “has no doubt” that classrooms are safe and that the risk to young people is “very, very small.”

He added: “Schools are safe. It is very, very important to emphasize that.

“I would advise all parents who are thinking of wanting to do, look where your area is, they will overwhelmingly be in a part of the country where elementary schools will be open tomorrow.”

His insistence comes in a week that shows that unions across the UK have warned against the planned reopening.

In Scotland, the Scottish Institute of Education called it a “recipe for disaster”.

Secretary General Larry Flanagan said: “There seems to be growing evidence of the role of young people in the transmission of this new variant.”

“If we have easier transmission through the adolescent population, then reopening schools where there is no physical distance between young people would be a recipe for disaster, it would simply accelerate the transmission of the infection in the community at large.

“Schools can only safely reopen when we have effectively suppressed infection levels from the community, and at this time, although there is some data lag due to

Christmas / New Year holidays, everything seems to indicate that this new variant has taken hold in Scotland and, therefore, we have to face this new challenge ”.

On Friday, Education Secretary Gavin Williamson confirmed that all of London’s primary schools would remain closed to most students, despite saying this would only be in certain districts earlier in the week.

The call to close was made in Holyrood by the Scottish Greens, with co-leader Patrick Harvie insisting they close.

He said: “With more new cases in the last day than any other daily increase and the numbers in hospitals and ICUs are also increasing, it is necessary to exercise caution.

“We need to be honest and accept that schools cannot back down until the situation is under control and the role schools play in transmitting the new strain is understood.

“Teachers have already told us that staff don’t feel safe, it’s time to listen to them.

“And when schools do open, it is clear that teachers must benefit from the new increased capacity in vaccination.”

This is only the fifth time the Holyrood parliament has been withdrawn and the second in the past four weeks.

Previously, it was convened after the deaths of Donald Dewar in October 2000 and the Queen Mother in April 2002.

It was also reconvened following the release of Abdelbaset Ali Mohmed Al Megrahi in 2009.

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