Scotland’s vaccine passport scheme will end on Monday (February 28th) and the rest of the country’s Covid restrictions, including the mandating of face masks, will end on March 21st, First Minister Nicola Sturgeon has announced – nearly a month after England’s ‘last’ restrictions are lifted on Thursday and nearly two months after England’s mask mandate was lifted on January 26th. Guidance will remain in place. BBC News has more.
First Minister Nicola Sturgeon said people would still be advised to wear masks in shops and on public transport.
But all legal restrictions on people and businesses will end as part of an effort to “return to a normal way of life”.
Meanwhile, the country’s vaccine passport scheme will end on February 28th.
The plan is part of a new strategic framework the Government has drawn up for dealing with the pandemic in the future.
Ms Sturgeon said it would see Scotland move away from legal restrictions, relying instead on “vaccines, treatments, and sensible adaptations and good public health behaviours”.
The move comes after Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced that England’s restrictions will be lifted on Thursday, with the requirement to self-isolate dropped and free mass testing to end in April.
Ms Sturgeon expressed frustration at Mr Johnson’s approach, calling for clarity about how the testing system – which operates U.K.-wide – would operate in future.