The Scottish Government is contemplating the reintroduction of mask mandates and lockdowns in response to the emergence of new COVID-19 variant, Pirola. The Scottish Daily Express has the story.
Humza Yousaf’s deputy has refused to rule out a return to mask mandates and lockdowns as a new strain of Covid spreads. Shona Robison said the Scottish Government would “take advice” from scientists moving forward.
The new variant, nicknamed Pirola, is highly mutated and is believed to be behind a spike in cases. While data is not available in terms of positive tests, Scotland still monitors sewage for evidence of the virus with health experts saying it is on the rise.
Pirola is understood to be better to bypassing immunity, either from vaccines or previous infections. The Deputy First Minister, who said the Chief Medical Officer has briefed the Scottish cabinet on the situation, was asked by Martin Geissler on BBC Scotland’s Sunday Show if she could “see a scenario” where the likes of face mask mandates, social distancing and lockdowns would return.
She responded: “We would take advice clearly and work very closely with U.K. partners around any change to the advice.” Ms. Robison added: “So the advice at the moment is, of course to make sure that you get vaccinated if you’re eligible, and of course to take those precautions… hand washing, obviously really, really important and you make a very important point about the impact on on hospital capacity, so people who become ill and then are required to be admitted to hospital, that puts additional pressure on the system.”