Nicola Sturgeon is set to confirm whether Scotland’s last remaining Covid regulations – about wearing face coverings – will be lifted next week.
The First Minister will update the MSP on whether the mask requirement in shops and public transport will end on April 4 as planned.
All of Scotland’s other Covid-19 rules have now been turned into guidance.
However, ministers decided to keep the face covering rule in place for a few extra weeks due to a surge in new cases.
Ms Sturgeon described this as a “temporary, precautionary” step and said the expectation was it would only last until early April.
The opposition Conservatives have called on the government to “trust the public” and end legal restrictions.
- New record as one in 11 Scots had Covid last week
- Covid pressure on hospitals ‘as serious as it gets’
Transmission of the virus recently reached record highs in Scotland, with an estimated one in 11 Scots having the virus in the week ending March 20.
The number of people hospitalized with the virus has also reached record highs, with 2,383 being treated for a recently confirmed case of Covid-19 on Monday.
But the country’s remaining restrictions continued to be gradually eased, with ministers pointing to the small number of people in intensive care – currently 20 – as evidence vaccines are helping to prevent serious illnesses.
On March 21, the obligation for companies to collect customer contact details and follow government guidelines was removed, and companies and services were instead urged to take “reasonable practical measures” to curb the spread of the virus.
Mandatory wearing of face coverings in closed public places should also be turned into guidance at this point, but Ms Sturgeon said it was wise to keep it “for another short period of time”.
She said this would “provide an extra layer of protection – particularly for the most vulnerable – at a time when the risk of infection is very high”.
Ms Sturgeon’s cabinet discussed the latest data on Tuesday, but no announcement was made in Parliament that Ms Sturgeon was attending the Duke of Edinburgh’s memorial service in London.
A decision is expected this week, with Holyrood set to be on hiatus for the first two weeks of April.
It is also considering reviewing Covid-related restrictions in hospitals such as isolation and distancing rules to increase capacity.
There were calls for changes to ease the pressure on services, with wait times in accident and emergency rooms hitting a record high on Tuesday.
On Monday, Ms Sturgeon said “these things are being very actively investigated”.
She said: “We have to find a balance all the time – and it’s not always an easy balance – between controlling the virus and minimizing the damage done by the actions taken to control the virus, and that has been a recurring theme throughout pandemic.
“In the broader society we have lifted all legal measures except for the further obligation to wear face coverings and in the health and care sector we want to continue to protect patients and staff from the risks of transmission, but we do recognize that this is becoming a reduced capacity in our hospitals.”
Covid rules are being phased out across the UK, with masks now only compulsory in Health and Social Services in Wales.
The legal requirement to wear face coverings was lifted in England on March 16, while lateral flow tests will only be free for those over 75 and those with compromised immune systems from Friday.
Testing is being phased out in Scotland, but the population-wide testing and contact tracing system will be phased out by the end of April.
- The UK’s last remaining Covid restrictions
Scottish Conservatives have urged the Scottish Government to ‘give up’ control of Covid restrictions.
Leader Douglas Ross said Ms Sturgeon “could not use the higher case counts, which she has not cut at all, as an excuse to delay or backtrack on the lifting of the remaining restrictions”.
Scottish Labor, meanwhile, called for more support for hospitals, saying lives were being put at risk despite the “tireless” work of staff.
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