I am trying to run 2 very basic test scripts, a read script and a write test script over serial communication using loopback. I have the read script in a while loop to read bytes received. I have the write script sending a single byte whenever I run it. The issue I am running into is I am trying to setup communication over a Virtual serial port set to COM5 using loopback. The read script connects and opens the port and the write script attempts to write through that port to the read script. But when I run the write script it gives me this error:

serial.serialutil.SerialException: could not open port 'COM5': PermissionError(13, 'Access is denied.', None, 5)

I have tried to disable and re-enable the port through Device Manager, I’ve tried restarting the Virtual serial port driver(VSPD) and have tried restarting my computer. I can monitor the opening and closing of the serial port through the VSPD and it is opening and closing correctly. It is also receiving the bytes when I run the write script when the read script is not active. Below I have put my code and the VSPD setup, the top comment describes on the code if it is either the read or the write script:

# Serial write Script

import serial

# Configure the serial port
ser = serial.Serial(
    port='COM5',
    baudrate=9600,
    bytesize=serial.EIGHTBITS,  # 8 bits per byte
    parity=serial.PARITY_NONE,  # No parity
    stopbits=serial.STOPBITS_ONE,  # 1 stop bit
    timeout=0.5  # Timeout in seconds
)

# Send a byte
byte_to_send = b'x41'  # Example byte to send (here, ASCII 'A')

ser.write(byte_to_send)
print(f"Sent byte: {byte_to_send}")

# Close the serial port
ser.close()

#Serial read script

import serial
import time

# Configure the serial port
ser = serial.Serial(
    port='COM5',
    baudrate=9600,
    bytesize=serial.EIGHTBITS,  # 8 bits per byte
    parity=serial.PARITY_NONE,  # No parity
    stopbits=serial.STOPBITS_ONE,  # 1 stop bit
    timeout=0.5  # Timeout in seconds
)

try:
    while True:
      
        # Read a byte
        byte_received = ser.read(1)  # Read one byte
        print(f"Received byte: {byte_received}")
        
        # Optional: Add a small delay to reduce CPU usage
        time.sleep(0.1)  # Adjust as needed

except KeyboardInterrupt:
    print("Interrupted")
finally:
    # Ensure the serial port is properly closed
    if ser.is_open:
        ser.close()
        print("Serial port closed")