Starting next week, Scots will no longer be legally required to wear face masks in any setting, the government confirmed yesterday.
Nicola Sturgeon Said that the easing of rules requiring people to wear masks in public places is to begin on Monday after nearly two years.
From then on, wearing a cover would become a guidance rather than a legal requirement.
This means Welsh hospitals and care homes are now the last places in the UK to impose restrictions on staff and visitors, although those too are expected to be lifted by next month.
Miss Sturgeon said: ‘We have seen steady progress in recent weeks as we return to a greater understanding of normalcy and a more sustainable way of managing this virus.
‘However, our NHS is still under pressure and the most vulnerable members of our society can still benefit from additional measures to protect against the virus.
‘This is why although the use of face coverings will become a guidance rather than a legal requirement, I strongly recommend that members of the public continue to wear face coverings in indoor settings where possible, and especially when in large numbers be people. be present.
Colin Wilkinson, managing director of the Scottish Licensed Trade Association, said the decision to relax the rules was ‘not premature’.
The easing of rules requiring people to wear masks in public places is to begin Monday after nearly two years
Nicola Sturgeon said she still ‘strongly recommends’ members of the public to continue wearing face coverings in indoor settings where possible
He added: ‘Scotland has been out of step with England for months and this has caused frustration for customers, especially visitors from the south of the border, and for business owners and their employees – with the use of face coverings. There has clearly been a lack of use. Clear in multiple settings.
The decision to move the law towards ‘guidance’ is warmly welcomed, though not before time and long, and while we expected it to come into force before the Easter holidays, a time when licensed hospitality is traditional. Experienced growth in business. , It is more late than ever.’
Health Secretary Hamza Yusuf has said the signs are ‘positive’ that Scotland is exiting the current coronavirus wave, but warned it would not be the last that the country would have to deal with.
The Health Secretary was speaking yesterday when he announced the acquisition of the private Carrick Glenn Clinic by NHS Ayrshire and Aaron to be part of a network of ten national surgical treatment centres.
The program is part of healthcare reform as it tries to tackle the backlog caused by the pandemic.
Asked whether Scotland is moving in the right direction in managing COVID, Mr Youssef said: ‘This is not the last wave we are going to deal with. I think there may be other waves, of course, my public health experts tell me… we have to deal with that.
‘I will still wear face coverings in special settings, and we encourage other people to do the same.’
Mr Yusuf urged school students to keep their peers safe by getting jabs when they return to classes after the Easter break.
He added: ‘We know it provides the best possible protection.’