Perth and Kinross Council has defended its decision to insist pupils return to lessons after a school ski trip in an area of northern Italy hit by coronavirus.
Worried parents withdrew pupils from Perth Grammar School on Monday morning, after word got out a small group of students had been told to come back to class following a week-long trip to Pila, near the Swiss border.
Last week, the UK Government advised that anyone returning from that part of Italy – anywhere north of Pisa – should avoid contact with others if they start to show even mild flu-like symptoms.
Perth and Kinross Council said the decision was based on official Scottish Government advice.
It is understood the pupils have been checked for symptoms.
A spokeswoman for the local authority said: “The health and wellbeing of our pupils and staff is our top priority.
“All of our schools are aware of the requirement to adhere to the advice and guidance from the Scottish Government and Public Health Scotland.
“If anyone becomes symptomatic then we ask that they follow the procedure set out by NHS Scotland and Public Health Scotland on what they should do.”
However, one parent said: “Parents whose children have asthma and other health problems are particularly worried about the risks here and I know a few mums who said they won’t be sending their children to school because of this.
“It just seems like the wrong decision to send them back straight away, given the symptoms might not show immediately.”
Last week, a group of pupils at Morrison’s Academy in Crieff returned from a ski trip in the same part of Italy.
Emails were send out to parents of the 33 students, urging them to be “particularly vigilant”.
A spokeswoman for the independent school said: “Families were requested to monitor the health of their children and family very closely and if they have any concerns or observe even the mildest signs of ill health to follow the NHS guidance and inform the school.”
British people returning from 11 Italian towns locked down in northern Italy have been told to self-isolate.
Perth and Kinross Council leader Murray Lyle said the authority is working with the Tayside Resilience Partnership and is “well prepared for a potential outbreak”.
He said: “The multi-agency resilience group has been meeting over the last two weeks to ensure the co-ordination and constituency of our response.
“We are following the advice of NHS at national and Tayside level in relation to prevention and infection control, and would encourage our communities to do the same.”
