Face masks are to remain a mandatory Covid measure in Scotland, First Minister Nicola Sturgeon announced on Tuesday.
With Scots expecting most Covid measures to come to an end at the end of the month, the one rule that has been in place since the start of the pandemic is set to stay for a little while longer.
Sturgeon addressed Holyrood this afternoon, March 15, to set out further plans on the future restrictions surrounding the virus, although a recent surge in cases has promoted a re-think from health professionals.
READ MORE: Nicola Sturgeon covid update LIVE: FM could scrap all remaining rules as cases rise
The First Minister also reported that the recent surge in positive cases is largely due to the Omicron sub-variant, BA.2.
Ms Sturgeon said: "Even though weight of numbers of infections is putting significant pressure on hospital capacity - a real concern - we continue to observe strong evidence that the link between infection and serious health harm has weakened considerably.
"However, this is due to immune protection, not least from vaccines, more than it is to Omicron being inherently milder. That is borne out by current experience in Hong Kong, where relatively low rates of vaccination, particularly in the older population, mean that Omicron is causing very significant levels of severe illness and death.
"This underlines the vital importance of vaccination. If you haven’t yet had doses you are eligible for, please get them now."
Letters are also being sent out for children aged between 5-11 to get their first dose of the vaccine, with appointments starting from Saturday, 19.
On the issue of face coverings remaining mandatory in most public settings, The First Minister added: "The exception relates to the requirement to wear face coverings on public transport, and in certain indoor settings.
"Given the current spike in case numbers, we consider it prudent to retain this requirement in regulation for a further short period. 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.
"We will review it again in two weeks - before Easter recess - and our expectation now is that this regulation will convert to guidance in early April."
Amongst a whole host of other positive changes to Covid restrictions, the First Minister also announced the end of lateral flow testing after Easter, no legal requirement to fill out a passenger locator form of day two Covid test on arrival to Scotland and the end of track and trace from next week.
Due to a problem with the Public Health Scotland server, cases from Monday were not recorded. That means that the cumulative figure of positive cases from the weekend and the week so far is 38,770.
The ONS survey also suggests that in the week to 6 March, 1 in 18 people in Scotland had Covid.
Three weeks ago, an average of 6,900 new cases a day were being reported. The average now is just over 12,000 a day.
There has also been a rise in the number of people who are in hospital with Covid. Three weeks ago, that stood at 1,060. Today it is 1,996.
