Pupils in secondary schools will no longer have to wear face masks in class from the end of this month.
Nicola Sturgeon today announced staff and students won't have to wear face coverings in lessons, saying the move would "reduce barriers to communication in the classroom and reduce any wellbeing impacts which arise from the use of face coverings”.
Students will still be required to wear face coverings in communal areas.
The First Minister said removing masks classrooms was possible after came after a drop in covid case numbers among secondary school children, as well as the decrease in hospital admission rates among all ages.
Case numbers have also dropped in West Lothian.
Over the last seven days, 854 new cases have been reported, a decrease of 5.3 per cent from the previous week.
Ms Sturgeon added the new rules will include school assemblies and visits from primary children preparing to go to secondary school.
She continued: "The situation now remains much more positive than it was at the turn of the year - and thanks to a combination of vaccinations, targeted protective measures and the responsible reaction of the public, it is much more positive than we feared it might be at this stage.
"It seems reasonable, based on the data, to conclude that we are now through the worst of this wave of Omicron.
"That has enabled the removal of virtually all the additional measures that we introduced in December and a return to normality in much of everyday life."
Sturgeon added: "We are on a good track at this stage. To stay on this track, though, continued care and caution remains necessary.
"While much more stable than it was, the virus is still widespread, one in 30 remains a high level of infection."
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