From 18th April 2022 in Scotland it will no longer be a legal requirement to wear a face covering/mask in indoor spaces like shops and on public transport. This will revert to guidance.

The First Minister of Scotland made the announcement as the latest Scottish stats published were (30th March 2022) :

• 9,610 new cases of COVID-19 reported
• 34 new reported deaths of people who have tested positive
• 20 people were in intensive care yesterday with recently confirmed COVID-19
• 2,344 people were in hospital yesterday with recently confirmed COVID-19
• 4,353,991 people have received their first dose of a COVID-19 vaccination, 4,092,791 have received their second dose, and have 3,451,131 received a third dose or booster

The decision taken by the Scottish Government to remove legal requirements to limit the onward transmission of Covid comes as hospitalisations of people made very ill due to the effects of the virus, continue to rise.

The rise in hospitalisations and the number of infectious people transmitting the virus to others also affects staffing in our health and social care services.

Between 21st and 27th of March 2022 (last date when figures were available) there were 593 residents in our adult care homes who had Covid and 781 staff. A third of all adult care homes in Scotland have cases of Covid.

Schools across Scotland have also seen increasing numbers of pupils and staff contracting Covid.

On 28th of March 2022: 20,075 pupils were absent from school due to the virus. Many schools have had to close classes and revert to home schooling.

Scotland has a very good rate of vaccinations but it should be noted that many young people are not fully vaccinated. Even those who have had a third, booster jag are falling ill as the protection the vaccination gives is wearing off as time passes.

Only 79,884 people in Scotland have had a 4th dose of the vaccine. The stats for the 4th dose are as follows:

In Scotland from Monday, 3rd April 2022  the legal requirement to wear a face covering in places of worship or while attending a marriage ceremony, civil partnership registration, funeral or commemorative event will end.

From 18th April 2022:

• most people without symptoms will no longer be asked to take COVID-19 tests
• free lateral flow devices (LFDs) for the purposes of twice weekly routine testing will no longer be available for the general population given the changing advice, but will continue to be free for any purpose for which testing continues to be advised – for clinical care, for health and social care workers and for people visiting vulnerable individuals in care homes or hospitals
• until the end of April, people with symptoms should still isolate and get a PCR test
• vaccinated close contacts of someone with COVID-19 should continue to test daily for seven days with LFDs

Referring to the wearing of face coverings as ‘an inconvenience’, Nicola Sturgeon said ““We will, of course, continue to encourage the wearing of face coverings in certain indoor places, especially where significant numbers of people are present.”

England removed its restrictions weeks ago and has seen a marked rise in hospitalisations and deaths Covid related.

In the UK

Between 20 March 2022 and 26 March 2022, 15,658 people were hospitalised due to Covid, an increase of 11.5% compared to the previous 7 days.

There were 19,387 patients in hospital with coronavirus on 29 March 2022. Some people in the hospital need to use a special device called a mechanical ventilator to help them breathe, 365 patients were in hospital beds with a mechanical ventilator on 29 March 2022.

Between 23 March 2022 and 29 March 2022, testing in the UK decreased by 5.2% as restrictions eased and people were no longer required to self isolate in England even if testing positive.

Deaths increased: Between 24 March 2022 and 30 March 2022, there were 1,070 deaths within 28 days of a positive coronavirus test. This shows an increase of 22.0% compared to the previous 7 days.

Fiona Grahame