Scotland to end most curbs but face masks stay in some settings

EDINBURGH: Most of the remaining Covid restrictions are to be scrapped in Scotland from Monday, Nicola Sturgeon has said, but the legal requirement to wear face coverings in some settings will remain.

The First Minister told MSPS in a virtual sitting of the Scottish Parliament that the country could move beyond Level 0 – the lowest level of a five tier system of restrictions in Scotland – due to the “steady decline in cases” and “the success of vaccination”.

She said most of the remaining legally imposed restrictions – including on physical distancing and limits to the size of social gatherings – would be lifted, allowing large-scale events to take place. But she said the legal requirement to wear a face mask will remain for “some time to come”.

Contact tracing of positive cases will remain, pubs and restraints must continue to collect customer details and home working will continue to be advised.

She said her government was considering “very carefully the possible, albeit limited, use of Covid status certification for access to certain higher risk venues in future”.

From Monday, close contacts of those who test positive for Covid will no longer be required to automatically self-isolate for 10 days.

Ms Sturgeon said: “However, while this move will restore a substantial degree of normality, it is important to be clear that it does not signal the end of the pandemic or a return to life exactly as we knew it before Covid struck Declaring freedom from, or victory over, this virus is premature.”