FIRST Minister Nicola Sturgeon issued a plea for people to abide by the new law making face coverings mandatory in shops and on public transport, appealing for Scots to do so “in solidarity” to protect both themselves and others.

Everyone over the age of five, with exemptions for some medical conditions such as asthma, is obliged to wear a face covering in those setting after Scotland officially moved into phase three of the route map out of lockdown.

Sturgeon said the latest lifting of restrictions – with larger groups now able to meet and some relaxation of physical distancing – allows people much more freedom, but she

warned it also brings “a moment of maximum danger”.

Speaking about face coverings during the Scottish Government’s coronavirus briefing yesterday, Sturgeon said: “I’m asking everybody to stick to the law, not from a fear of enforcement, but because it’s the right thing to do – it helps keep us and other people safe.

“I encourage people to see wearing a face covering for the foreseeable future when you go to the shops to become as automatic as putting a seatbelt on is in a car.”

When as about the potential burden being placed on shop workers by the policy, Sturgeon said she does not expect staff to have to enforce the rule and said, where necessary, police could issue fines to people who fail to comply.

“The key here is for all of us as responsible citizens to do it because it’s the right thing to do,” Sturgeon added.

“The vast bulk of the population over almost four long, hard months have done the right thing at great personal cost and sacrifice and that’s why we are where we are today, so let’s keep doing the right things.”

Describing her own experience of wearing a mask, Sturgeon said: “When I first started to wear one some weeks back, I thought I was never going to get used to it.’.

“I wear glasses to read and my glasses steamed up, and you just feel that you can’t breathe properly.

“Now I don’t really think about it, when I put one on it feels, I wouldn’t say it feels absolutely natural, but it’s not something that I feel great discomfort from.”

Speaking alongside Sturgeon, national clinical director Jason Leitch said face coverings are not required to be medical-standard masks but should cover the nose and mouth with at least two layers of fabric.

Leitch added: “These face coverings are now mandatory on public transport and shops, but you should also wear them in any other enclosed space where physical distancing is more difficult, particularly if you’re at risk of close contact with others.

“That might include care home visits to the elderly, visits to hospitals, as an outpatient, visits to GP surgeries or pharmacies.”

Sturgeon also warned easing lockdown restrictions must not lead to Scots letting down their guard, as she revealed the highest number of new cases of the virus for three weeks.

The First Minister revealed yesterday that 18 people had tested positive for Covid-19 since Wednesday.

While the number of new cases remains “very low”, she said, the rise is being “looked at very closely” and serves as a reminder the virus has not gone away.

But no new coronavirus deaths were recorded in Scotland for the second day running, she added.

This means 18,333 people have tested positive for the virus and the death toll in Scotland remains at 2490.

The First Minister urged people to “think even more carefully” about the steps they could take to prevent the disease spreading.

Sturgeon added: “This virus hasn’t gone away so life should still not feel totally normal. The lifting of restrictions, important and welcome though it undoubtedly is, mustn’t mean the dropping of our guard, and that’s really important.

“We’ve been in lockdown for more than three months now but being in lockdown ourselves has meant that the virus has also been in lockdown.”