Boris Johnson’s approach to ending Covid regulations this month “is something of an exception”, Nicola Sturgeon has said – as she vowed to keep mandatory mask rules in place for Scotland.
The prime minister has promised to tear up almost all of England’s remaining curbs on 19 July, but Scotland’s first minister said she could “simply throw all caution to the wind” north of the border.
The wearing of masks ion public transport and confined spaces will still be mandatory in Scotland “even if it is not in England”, Ms Sturgeon said on Thursday.
“I don’t want to give any suggestion here that the ending of requirements for face coverings is coming any time really soon,” the SNP leader said at her latest coronavirus briefing.
She also outlined her fears that England’s so-called “freedom day” later this month could spark some confusion among Scots. The first minister said she was concerned that the “domination of coverage” from England could “confuse the message here”.
While Ms Sturgeon still hopes to go ahead with a planned easing on some curbs on 19 July. She said she hopes all of Scotland will be able to move to Level 0 on that date, as planned.
But a decision on whether and to what extent this can happen will be announced at Holyrood on Tuesday.
She said: “It is worth pointing out the path the UK government is embarking on for England – a path of not just lifting all restrictions from July 19, but also removing the requirement for basic mitigations like face masks … is something of an exception.”
“While I totally understood the desire some have for us to follow suit in every single step, we have to think carefully about the steps we do take at this juncture.”
Ms Sturgeon “My job is not to take the easy decisions in a quest for popularity, it is to do what I think is most likely to keep the country as safe as possible as we get to the end of the vaccination programme.”
The first minister also told a Scottish government briefing that current high case numbers are concerning, but there is a “suggestion that the recent surge in cases may be to some extent levelling off”.
She announced that Scotland has recorded four deaths of coronavirus patients in the past 24 hours and 2,802 new cases. The daily test positivity rate is 8 per cent – down from 10 per cent the previous day.
