Nicola Sturgeon has announce that face mask rules in Scotland will remain in place until Easter.
The First Minister told MSPs in the Scottish Parliament that due to the high number of covid cases across the country the rule would be kept until next month.
During her announcement the SNP leader revealed the scrapping of the requirement would be done in a phased basis over the next couple of weeks.
Changes in some of the rules will come into effect from Monday, April 4, however it will still be the guidance of the government to use a covering.
Sturgeon had been expected to lift the rule on masks earlier this month, but that was delayed due to the spread of 'Stealth Omicron' across the country.
Here's the Sturgeon's statement at a glance:
Face masks
From Monday, April 4, people will no longer have to wear a covering while in a place of worship. While on Easter Monday, April 18, Scots will no longer have to cover up in shops and on public transport.
Sturgeon 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."
Cases
Nicola Sturgeon announced that a further 9,610 new cases of covid-19, as well as 34 new deaths were reported in the last 24 hour period.
She added: "It is important to set these figures in some context. 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 per cent fall over the last 7 days, and it is fairly consistent across all age groups."
Testing
With the number of cases remaining high the First Minister asked Scots to continue testing twice weekly up until the Easter period.
Sturgeon said: "For the period up until Easter, therefore, we are continuing to ask everyone to take a lateral flow test twice a week; to take a test daily for 7 days if you are a close contact of a positive case; and to take a test before visiting someone who is vulnerable."
Hospitals
During the announcement Sturgeon warned that the number of people currently in hospital with the virus is causing "significant pressure" on the NHS.
It comes as 2,344 Scots were in facilities across the country with coronavirus.
She said: "The number of people in hospital with Covid reported today –2,344 – is 39 lower than yesterday. But yesterday’s figure was the highest it has been since the start of the pandemic. So today’s number is still exceptionally high, and significantly above the previous peak of hospital cases, which was 2053 in January 2021.
"More positively - and again this is evidence of the power of vaccination - the number of patients in intensive care with Covid remains relatively low – 26 on today’s figures. That is a fall of 15 in the last two weeks.
"Nevertheless, the volume of people in hospital with Covid is causing very significant pressure for a health service that has been dealing with the pandemic for more than two years."
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