The Scottish government has pushed back the date for lifting its mask mandates, saying it is “prudent” for this measure to remain in place in view of the “current spike” in COVID-19 cases.
Scottish First Minister Nicola Sturgeon said last month that the legal requirement to wear a mask on public transport and in some indoor settings would come to an end on March 21 “assuming no significant adverse developments in the course of the virus.”
But she told the Scottish Parliament on Tuesday that ministers had agreed it would be “prudent” to keep the mandate in place for longer.
She said she knew this would be “disappointing” and urged people to “be patient for a little while longer.”
Sturgeon said, “Given the current spike in case numbers, we consider it prudent to retain this requirement in regulation for a further short period.”
“Ensuring continued widespread use of face coverings will provide some additional protection—particularly for the most vulnerable—at a time when the risk of infection is very high, and it may help us get over this spike more quickly,” she added.
She said the legal requirement will be reviewed again in two weeks’ time, and her “expectation” was that it will become guidance rather than law in “early April.”
She said that official advice on testing would also change next month, saying that from April 18 “we will no longer advise people without symptoms to test twice weekly.”
“Our intention is that from the end of April all routine population-wide testing will end, including for those who have symptoms. Contact tracing will end at this point too—although people with symptoms of respiratory illness will be advised to stay at home.”
“It’s true that case numbers are higher now than any of us would like, but COVID cases were always going to rise when restrictions were eased,” he said.
“We can’t get complacent with COVID but we have to move forward. We can’t stay stuck with COVID rules forever,” he added.
In response, Sturgeon stressed that, apart from the mask mandates, “every single legal measure” will have been lifted.
She said that much of the public would “welcome this precautionary move” given the high case rates.
