Nicola Sturgeon announces face mask rule will end in Scotland next month

dailyrecord.co.uk:

First Minister Nicola Sturgeon has said the legal requirement to wear face masks in shops and on public transport will end next month.She had been expected to lift the rule in March, but a rise in cases made her pause.

Addressing MSPs, she said the face mask requirement would be phased out in different stages in April. She said: "From next Monday 4 April, it will no longer be a legal requirement to wear a face covering in places of worship or while attending a marriage ceremony, a civil partnership registration, or a funeral service or commemorative event."And then the wider legal requirement - applying to shops, certain other indoor settings and public transport - will be converted to guidance two weeks later on 18 April."We will, of course, continue to encourage the wearing of face coverings in certain indoor places, especially where significant numbers of people are present."Face covering rules are currently the only legal restrictions still in place in Scotland in the wake of the pandemic.In her statement, Sturgeon said infection levels are still high, but noted:"Two weeks ago, there were on average just over 12,400 new cases being reported each day.

One week ago,the average case number was still high, at around 12,000 a day. However, over the past week, it has fallen to 10,200 a day.

That is a 15% fall over the last 7 days, and it is fairly consistent across all age groups."That gives us grounds for optimism that this latest wave of infection may now have peaked."This is a breaking news story - more to follow.