Nicola Sturgeon announces Scotland's plans for living with Covid
- Published
Scotland's First Minister Nicola Sturgeon
First Minister Nicola Sturgeon has announced that all Covid-19 legal restrictions in Scotland will be lifted from 21 March.
Ms Sturgeon outlined the plans, including ending wearing of masks in shops and on public transport, to Members of the Scottish Parliament (MSPs) on Tuesday afternoon.
It comes after Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced that all legal restrictions will end in England.
The first minister said her aim was to get back to normality while being ready to deal with any future outbreaks.
What will change?
Boris Johnson has suggested the Scottish government would have to fund any continued free testing
Regulations requiring face masks on public transport and in shops will end on 21 March.
Scotland's system of vaccine passports, allowing access to big sports and music events, will stop on 28 February.
The first minister said: "As the situation improves and the severity of the impact from Covid reduces, we are duty bound to remove legally imposed restrictions.
"However, this should not be taken as a signal that Covid no longer presents any risk to health."
What's happening with isolation and testing?
Doctors have argued free lateral flow tests will reduce the risk of further variants and help protect the vulnerable people
In contrast to England, Scotland will still recommend that anyone with Covid should self-isolate.
The first minister said: "It is worth stressing that isolating when positive with a highly infectious virus - and the follow-up tracing - remains one of the most fundamental public health protections that we have available to us."
Sturgeon said testing and isolation are examples of certain measures which should continue to help keep the virus under control.
There will be a lot of optimism around what I set out, but I've got to be frank with people - we are still in a pandemic of this virus, we know from past experience that new variants can come about and cause new challenges... We need to be vigilant and prepared for that.
Dr Andrew Buist from the British Medical Association's GPs committee told the BBC he hoped the Scottish government would keep free access to lateral flow testing in order to support people on lower incomes.
He added: "Doing the right thing is much easier if you're in a secure job but if you're not paid if you don't go to work or if you don't have the funds to buy the test kits there will always be temptation to go to work."
How have Scottish politicians reacted?
The first minister has said MSPs will be given the chance to debate and vote on the plans
The Scottish Conservatives - rivals to Ms Sturgeon's Scottish Nationalist Party - have urged the Scottish government to put greater focus on "trusting the public to act responsibly", while phasing out the mass testing system and setting up long Covid clinics.
Health spokesman Dr Sandesh Gulhane said: "With the data on the virus being much more encouraging, we have to move away from blanket restrictions and instead trust the public to do the right thing."
Scottish Labour stressed that "the virus has not gone away", calling on ministers in both the Scottish Parliament and the UK government to work together rather than compete.
"Both governments must make decisions that are grounded in science and in the real world," said deputy leader Jackie Baillie.
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