Covid: Law on wearing face masks in Scotland is lifted

People in Scotland are no longer legally required to wear face coverings in crowded indoor places like shops and restaurants, or on public transport.

However, the Scottish government and health experts are still strongly advising people to continue to wear masks voluntarily.

It also means wearing face coverings in school corridors will not be mandatory - but it will be encouraged.

The move brings Scotland into line with the rest of the UK.

Both ScotRail and the ferry operator CalMac are strongly recommending that passengers continue to wear face coverings.

The testing regime has also changed, with free lateral flow tests no longer available to the general population.

People without symptoms are no longer required to take the regular tests, but PCR tests will be available to people with symptoms until the end of April.

Community cases of the virus are falling but the number of Covid-positive hospital patients remains high.

Scotland's national clinical director, Professor Jason Leitch, said coronavirus was now being dealt with through common sense and guidance, rather than law.

He acknowledged the daily case rate remained high but he told BBC Radio's Good Morning Scotland programme that vaccination and therapeutics had "changed the game".

He said: "We're still cautious as public health advisers because we're still worried about the overwhelmed nature of our health systems around the world - not just here, but Scotland is no exception.

"Our emergency departments are struggling, our hospitals are struggling, not just with Covid - with backlog, with everything else coming in that has waited until this point to come forward."

During the pandemic, many people have been waiting before approaching the health service with their illness.

Professor Stephen Reicher, a behavioural psychologist at St Andrews University, said people should wear face coverings to protect vulnerable members of the community, rather than themselves.

"If I choose not to wear a mask, I make it dangerous for somebody who's vulnerable and I take their choice away," he said.

"So we should be acting as a community so everyone can go out in public and everybody can be safe."

Asked whether it was too soon to lift the face mask rules, he said: "Personally, at the levels of Covid that we have now.... I think it's premature. But I don't want to quibble about that.

"The thing I want to stress is the advice... the public health advice is that for your safety and the safety of others, and so that as a community we can come out of this together, wear a mask in crowded places - very clear, very simple."

Alix, assistant manager at Maia Gifts in Glasgow city centre, said business had been quiet while office workers have been working from home and tourism has been curtailed.

But they are beginning to see footfall rise.

"People are starting to come back in for work, so it's started to pick up again. Hopefully the masks will be another wee boost for us," she said.

Alex said they will continue to maintain good hygiene practice, wiping surfaces and keeping the door open for ventilation.

"In general we're hoping that people will be more comfortable coming into the city centre, having a bit more of a wander, branching out a bit more," she said.

The latest spike in cases and hospitalisations in Scotland has been driven by the BA.2 Omicron variant of Covid.

About one in 17 people in Scotland had the virus in week ending 9 April - down from one in 13 the previous week, according to the Office for National Statistics.

Public Health Scotland said there were more than 2,000 people in hospital with the virus on Thursday - but very few in intensive care.

Professor Linda Bauld, a public health expert and an advisor to the Scottish government, said she was worried about a new variant taking hold.

"I think we will have a good spring and summer, we will get through this wave and the pressure on the NHS from Covid will lessen," she said.

"But if we had a new variant in the future, the big scientific questions are: is it more transmissible? Is it more severe? And how do our vaccines and the protection conferred by vaccines respond to that variant?

"That's why we need to keep up a threshold of testing in Scotland and around the world - the PCR testing that we can genomically sequence to find those variants."

The national clinical director was also asked about a video showing Nicola Sturgeon not wearing a face mask during a campaign visit to a barber's in East Kilbride.

The matter has been reported to Police Scotland.

Prof Leitch said: "I haven't spoken to the first minister today, I imagine I'll speak to her later.

"My understanding is it was a matter of seconds. She realises the place is crowded, puts her face covering on. Which is actually what we're asking people to do.

"The guidance is if you are in a crowded area inadvertently or deliberately, then put a face covering on and that will protect you and others."