This means you will no longer be breaking the law for not wearing a covering in public places, including. Prof Leitch said: "I haven't spoken to the first minister today, I imagine I'll speak to her later. The material has been peer reviewed by the congress selection committee. A video posted on social media appeared to show her not wearing a mask during a visit to a barber's in East Kilbride, South Lanarkshire, on Saturday. . "The surgical and cotton masks just allow for a little more of the virus to get through. Your email address is used only to let the recipient know who sent the email. "That's why we need to keep up a threshold of testing in Scotland and around the world - the PCR testing that we can genomically sequence to find those variants.". Video, The secret mine that hid the Nazis' stolen treasure. Factors to consider include the local epidemiological trends or rising hospitalization levels, levels of vaccination coverage and immunity in the community, and the setting people find themselves in. Individuals should be provided with a new replacement face mask to put on after such activities where removal is required. WHO continues to recommend the use of masks by the public in specific situations, and this update recommends their use irrespective of the local epidemiological situation, given the current spread of the COVID-19 globally. VideoThe secret mine that hid the Nazis' stolen treasure, LGBT troops take love for Eurovision to front line, Why an Indian comedian is challenging fake news rules, What Europe's royals could teach King Charles. ", The First Minister said Covid-19 was "still out there", adding: "Wearing a face covering is a bit of protection you can give, not only to yourself but to the people you might be around - including people who might be more clinically vulnerable.". "Once again we just have to ask for patience from people until the NHS can work a bit normally as Covid cases recede.". The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. Your cookie preferences have been saved. Copy link. Staff can also remove the FRSM if the individual they are supporting/caring for is a person who lip-reads to communicate (if transparent mask is not available/suitable), or if the individual is showing signs of distress. And how do our vaccines and the protection conferred by vaccines respond to that variant? Before the weekend, coronavirus hospital cases in Scotland were still at more than 2,000. She added: "The SNP government have been far too slow to trust the public to use their judgement on wearing face masks, having twice U-turned on lifting the blanket curb before. People in Scotland are no longer legally required to wear face coverings in crowded indoor places like shops and restaurants, or on public transport. That is why although the use of face coverings will become guidance rather than a legal requirement I strongly recommend members of the public continue wearing face coverings in indoor settings where possible, and particularly when significant numbers of people are present. "We hope this empirical evidence can help inform a rational and proportionate mask policy in health services.". Get weekly and/or daily updates delivered to your inbox. Isolation of people with COVID-19 is an important step in preventing others from being infected. When autocomplete results are available use up and down arrows to review and enter to select. To keep our patients and staff safe, NHS Western Isles is requiring all staff, visitors and those attending healthcare appointments at our hospitals and other premises to wear a clinical face mask on entry to the premises. She was suffering an asthma attack, and decided to walk the few blocks from . In recent weeks we have seen steady progress as we move back to a greater sense of normality and a more sustainable way of managing this virus. The legal requirement to wear face coverings in most indoor public spaces and on public transport will become guidance next week. The public health advice for people who feel unwell will be to stay at home until they feel better, to reduce the risk of infecting other people. We use cookies to collect anonymous data to help us improve your site browsing Click 'Accept all cookies' to agree to all cookies that collect anonymous data. In the final week of 2022, the ONS estimated that one in every 25 people in Scotland had Covid. Did you know with a Digital Subscription to The Scotsman, you can get unlimited access to the website including our premium content, as well as benefiting from fewer ads, loyalty rewards and much more. Scots are being urged to wear face masks in public indoor spaces in a bid to alleviate pressure on the NHS with hospitals almost at full capacity. Some areas have introduced PPE Champions to support staff to adhere to the guidance, by offering support to mitigate the risks. It is a statement of the obvious that working with the scale of pressures that are being experienced right now is an incredibly difficult task, she said. But they are beginning to see footfall rise. The legal requirement to wear face coverings in many indoor settings in Scotland will end next Monday. However, we do not guarantee individual replies due to the high volume of messages. "In general we're hoping that people will be more comfortable coming into the city centre, having a bit more of a wander, branching out a bit more," she said. Most populous nation: Should India rejoice or panic? Independent Oversight and Advisory Committee, Infection prevention and control in the context of coronavirus disease (COVID-19): A living guideline, Clinical management of COVID-19 patients: living guideline, Therapeutics and COVID-19: living guideline, WHO updates COVID-19 guidelines on masks, treatments and patient care. On 21 March, the requirement for businesses to collect customer contact details and follow government guidelines was scrapped, with firms and services instead urged to take "reasonably practical measures" to reduce the spread of the virus. Heres what you need to know. "I think we will have a good spring and summer, we will get through this wave and the pressure on the NHS from Covid will lessen," she said. It is recognised that some patients may require respite from wearing a face mask for long periods of time. "The way you look after your staff is to not overburden them, you don't ask them to do more when they've already spent two years doing more - it is about realism for the coming months," Dr Morrison added. A full paper has been submitted to a medical journal and is currently under review but not available at this stage and, as this is an early release from ECCMID, the poster is not yet available. Those eligible for an exemption card can obtain the card by visitingwww.exempt.scotor via the free helpline at 0800 121 6240. . . In cases where patients feel they cant tolerate wearing a face mask, the option of wearing a face covering should be available to them. Do not give any personal information because we cannot reply to you directly. It is strongly recommended that face coverings continue to be worn where appropriate including in indoor crowded spaces and on public transport - as members of the public are advised to carry on taking sensible precautions to reduce the spread of COVID-19. Then in phase two, at week 26 (June 2, 2022 to September 10, 2022) the surgical mask-wearing policy was removed for the majority of wards (study group), while a subset of high-risk wards (i.e., renal hematology and oncology wards, the medical admissions unit and intensive care units) retained the mask obligation policy for staff (control group). Posters to support this can be foundon the Public Health Scotland website. This Twitter post cannot be displayed in your browser. Legal mask rule in Scotland ends by 18 April. Video, The secret mine that hid the Nazis' stolen treasure. Similarly, the control group who continued wearing masks, found no immediate or delayed change in infection rate. On Thursday, there were 2,383 people in hospital with recently confirmed Covid-19, a record high. Requirements to wear surgical masks in a large London hospital during the first 10 months of omicron activity (December 2021 to September 2022) made no discernible difference to reducing hospital-acquired SARS-CoV-2 infections, according to new research being presented at this year's European Congress of Clinical Microbiology & Infectious Diseases (ECCMID) in Copenhagen, Denmark (1518 April). James Bond fans convinced THIS Game Of Thrones actor will become 007, Hardcore coronation fans already camped outside Buckingham Palace, One dead and seven injured in Cornwall nightclub knife attack, Coronation Street actress Barbara Young dies aged 92, Eurovision acts land in Liverpool ahead of Song Contest, Jeff Stelling leaving Sky Sports after 30 years with Soccer Saturday. By using our site, you acknowledge that you have read and understand our Privacy Policy Previously, WHO advised that patients be discharged 10 days after symptom onset, plus at least three additional days since their symptoms had resolved. What difference will lifting face mask laws make? . The Scottish Government is also working with health boards to assess initiatives such as extending GP opening hours to Saturdays, as announced by NHS Lanarkshire last week. A leading infections expert told the BBC masks should still be worn on public transport and in healthcare settings when legal enforcement are dropped. Although the Province's masking requirement for certain indoor settings has expired, the wearing of face masks will continue . compromises clinical care (e.g. People are no longer legally required to wear face masks on public transport and in most indoor public spaces in Scotland as the rule moved into guidance on Monday. Read about our approach to external linking. VideoThe secret mine that hid the Nazis' stolen treasure, LGBT troops take love for Eurovision to front line, Why an Indian comedian is challenging fake news rules, What Europe's royals could teach King Charles. People in Scotland are no longer legally required to wear face coverings in crowded indoor places like shops and restaurants, or on public transport. the following attributes while ensuring the content's credibility: by European Society of Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases. He acknowledged the daily case rate remained high but he told BBC Radio's Good Morning Scotland programme that vaccination and therapeutics had "changed the game". The BBC is not responsible for the content of external sites. This should be decided on an individual case-by-case basis. But she said people including shoppers and school pupils who want to continue wearing face masks should be supported.