Nicola Sturgeon says mass school closures “are not yet necessary” but emergency measures devised by civil servants could see them shut from Easter to the summer holidays

Scottish ministers are ready to shut schools for more than four months as part of a drastic plan to delay the spread of coronavirus.

Emergency measures devised by senior civil servants would see thousands of schools stay closed after the Easter break if infections continue to rise.

The lockdown would continue until the start of the summer holidays, meaning pupils could be off from early April until mid-August — up to 19 weeks.

Nicola Sturgeon, first minister, has said widespread school closures “are not yet necessary” but senior government officials have indicated that the move could “flatten the peak” of the disease, which is expected to occur in the spring.

By yesterday, 121 people in Scotland had tested positive for Covid-19, the disease caused by