People are no longer legally required to wear face masks on public transport and in most indoor public spaces in Scotland as the rule moved into guidance on Monday.
However although the final coronavirus restriction in law has lifted, the Scottish Government is still strongly recommending that people continue to wear face coverings where appropriate as Covid-19 continues to spread.
Meanwhile people without symptoms of the virus are no longer being asked to take regular lateral flow tests as of April 18 as part of changes to the test and protect system.
Free lateral flow devices (LFDs) for twice weekly routine testing are no longer available for the general population.
However the tests will continue to be free for any purpose for which testing continues to be advised – for clinical care, health and social care workers and for people visiting vulnerable individuals in care homes or hospitals.
The rule easing came the day after Scotland’s First Minister Nicola Sturgeon was reported to police after footage showed her apparently breaching the country’s Covid face mask law while on the council election campaign trail.
A video posted on social media appeared to show her not wearing a mask during a visit to a barber’s in East Kilbride, South Lanarkshire, on Saturday.
Police Scotland confirmed it had received a complaint and said it was being assessed.
The SNP said the First Minister was invited into the barbers during an outdoor visit on the street.
A party spokesman said: “Within a few seconds, she realised she hadn’t put her mask back on and immediately put it on.”
Ms Sturgeon has previously said she is confident most people will continue to wear masks after the rules ease.
Speaking on Saturday, she told the PA news agency: “I’m not saying every single person will (continue to wear masks), people will make their own decisions.
“But I think, just as the vast majority of people have abided by all that we’ve asked of them over the last two years – not because politicians have been asking or the law necessarily has required it – because people understand that the best way to protect themselves and protect those they love is to abide by these really sensible, basic precautions against the spread of a virus.”
The First Minister said Covid-19 was “still out there”, adding: “Wearing a face covering is a bit of protection you can give, not only to yourself but to the people you might be around – including people who might be more clinically vulnerable.”
A weekly Covid-19 survey produced by the Office for National Statistics found that around one in every 17 people in Scotland had Covid-19 in the week up to April 9, a drop on recent weeks.
Until the end of April, people with symptoms should still isolate and get a PCR test.
From April 30, test sites will close and people with symptoms will no longer be advised that they need to seek a test.
The public health advice for people who feel unwell will be to stay at home until they feel better, to reduce the risk of infecting other people.
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules hereLast Updated:
Report this comment Cancel