Sturgeon urges Scots to wear coronavirus face masks for shopping and travel

Nicola Sturgeon has announced new guidance that the Scottish public should wear face masks in enclosed spaces where social distancing is difficult to achieve, for example while shopping or using public transport.

Announcing the guidance on facial coverings as calls grow for the UK government to amend its own guidance, with the BMA calling on ministers to make wearing masks in public compulsory, Sturgeon said “all governments across the UK are considering this and it’s not for me to speak to them”, insisting there was no “divide or split” on the matter.

However, she said she “had a lot of sympathy with comments Sadiq Khan has made from a London perspective”. The mayor of London last week criticised the UK government’s continuing refusal to change its advice on face covering in public on the basis that that scientific case is not strong enough.

Sturgeon told reporters at her daily media briefing: “There will be some instances where we decide to do things ahead of the rest of the UK, or vice-versa. That does not indicate a difference of opinion or a divide or split. My responsibility is to make judgments based on the evidence I can get on what is right to protect the people of Scotland.”

The Scottish government has moved ahead of the rest of the UK at a number of significant moments during the coronavirus crisis, including banning mass gatherings and closing schools slightly earlier, while Sturgeon has consistently said it is “logical” for the country to diverge from the rest of the UK where the evidence directs it.

Last week, as the UK government faced calls to reveal its own exit strategy from the lockdown, the Scottish government published a framework document setting out its proposals for easing some restrictions, as Sturgeon insisted she wanted to engage with the public directly and treat Scots “like the grown up you are”.

Later, Sturgeon described as “tedious and misplaced” suggestions that she had made the announcement in order to embarrass Westminster, saying: “I’m just trying to do my job - as every other government is. This tendency to read malign motives when all any of us is trying to do is tackle the virus as best we can, is tedious and misplaced”.

Sturgeon also said one of the reasons she had issued the guidance now was because people were increasingly wearing masks when they left the house and she did not want this to make individuals feel “invincible’ or distract from adherence to existing physical distancing and stay-at-home guidance.

She added her government would review making masks mandatory as lockdown restrictions are lifted.

She said: “As we go into a phase of lifting some of the restrictions and people are maybe coming into contact with more people than they are now we will review that and it may be at later stages we will take a tougher stance.”

Sturgeon said evidence showed there was limited benefit to wearing homemade face coverings but that she did not want use of facial coverings to make people feel “invincible”.

Suggesting people wear “something fairly basic – a scarf, bandana, cloth or textile”, she underlined she was not asking the public to buy medical-grade face masks and said it was “important to stress the limitations of face mask wearing as well as the limited benefits”.

The Scottish government guidance recommends that people wash their hands when applying or removing their face covering.

“After each use, you must wash the face covering at 60C or dispose of safely”.

It states that face coverings should not be used for children under the age of two years, and Sturgeon added there would be other circumstances where wearing a face covering would not be appropriate, for example if an individual has asthma.