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| Covid in Scotland: Mask rules will stay in force until April | Covid in Scotland: Mask rules will stay in force until April |
| (32 minutes later) | |
| Scotland's rules on face coverings in shops and on public transport will remain in place until April due to a rise in cases of Covid-19. | Scotland's rules on face coverings in shops and on public transport will remain in place until April due to a rise in cases of Covid-19. |
| All other restrictions on businesses and services are to move from legal requirement to guidance from 21 March. | All other restrictions on businesses and services are to move from legal requirement to guidance from 21 March. |
| But First Minister Nicola Sturgeon said it would be "prudent" to keep mask rules in place due to a spike in cases. | But First Minister Nicola Sturgeon said it would be "prudent" to keep mask rules in place due to a spike in cases. |
| These will be reviewed again in two weeks, and are likely to be converted to guidance by 4 April. | |
| Ms Sturgeon said a sharp rise in infections was putting "significant pressure on hospital capacity", but that vaccines were still giving people good protection. | Ms Sturgeon said a sharp rise in infections was putting "significant pressure on hospital capacity", but that vaccines were still giving people good protection. |
| She also told MSPs that mass testing will be wound down in April, with routine testing and contact tracing to end by May. | |
| Live: Nicola Sturgeon updates MSPs on Covid rules | |
| The average number of new cases reported each day in Scotland is more than 12,000, up from an average of 6,900 per day three weeks ago. | |
| There has also been a rise in the number of people in hospital with Covid-19, from 1,060 three weeks ago to 1,996 today. | |
| Ms Sturgeon said the BA.2 variant of Omicron was now the dominant strain of the virus in Scotland, accounting for more than 80% of cases - adding that while it spreads much more quickly, there is no evidence it causes more severe illness than previous variants. | |
| Under the government's strategic framework for managing the virus, remaining legal restrictions - including mask-wearing and the need for businesses to record customer contact details and follow other guidance - were to be lifted on 21 March. | |
| The rules for businesses will be dropped as planned, but Ms Sturgeon said she needed to "ask everyone to be patient for a little while longer on face coverings". | |
| She said: "I know this will be disappointing for businesses and service providers such as day care services. | |
| "However, 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." | |
| The first minister stressed that the lifting of other measures marked "steady progress back to normal life and a more sustainable way of managing this virus". | |
| But the Scottish Conservatives said mask rules staying in place was "a blow for households and businesses". | |
| Leader Douglas Ross urged Ms Sturgeon to trust people to manage their own risks, adding: "We can't get complacent with Covid, but we need to move forward - we can't stay stuck with Covid rules forever." | |
| RULES: What are the restrictions in your area? | |
| EASING: What rules are changing, and when? | |
| WHO? The people who have died with Covid-19 |