Scotland will end its COVID passport scheme next Monday and the legal requirement to wear face coverings in some indoor settings will be dropped from 21 March, Nicola Sturgeon has said.
The decisions were announced as part of the Scottish government’s plans for managing the pandemic with a new “strategic framework”.
From 21 March, wearing face coverings in indoor settings like public transport will become guidance.
Other restrictions will also end on the same date.
Places of worship, businesses and service providers will no longer be required to follow COVID guidance, and customer contact details will no longer have to be kept for the purposes of contact tracing.
The first minister outlined her government’s commitment to “continued access to PCR and lateral flow testing free of charge where we transition to a system of testing that is more targeted”.
“The only immediate change we’re making to current arrangements on lateral flow tests for the general population is in our advice on the frequency of testing,” she said.
“Instead of advice to test before going anywhere to mix with others, we will from Monday next week revert to advice to test at least twice a week, and in particular, if you’re going to a crowded place or mixing with someone who’s clinically vulnerable.”
In March, she said the government would publish a detailed plan for testing “describing the scale of infrastructure that will remain in place for the longer term”.
She said there would be a “transition period” beyond the end of March when the system will operate “on the same basis”.
Its duration will be outlined next month.
Ms Sturgeon said she was waiting for clarity on how much funding would be available from the Westminster government to support continued free testing.
She said it is “reasonable” to “move away from mass population-wide asymptomatic testing” to a “more targeted system”.
She confirmed that those who test positive for the virus would continue to self-isolate “for…
Source : skynews
