THE compulsory wearing of face mask rules will remain in place in Scotland, Kate Forbes has confirmed saying there would be "fundamental differences" with Boris Johnson's government over the lifting of restrictions.
She highlighted the regulation as among a number of "baseline" measures which would remain in place for some time after other regulations have eased.
The Finance Secretary (below) made clear the Scottish Government's position today following an outcry over plans by Boris Johnson to scrap the mandatory wearing of face masks in England from July 19. Instead, it will be up to people's personal judgement if and when they should wear one.
Trade unions representing transport and shop workers described the proposals by the Prime Minister to scrap face mask restrictions later this month as "gambling with people's lives" and "negligent".
READ MORE: Douglas Ross backs Boris Johnson on ending Covid-19 rules in England
"We all want to get back to some form of normality and the First Minister has set out in Scotland our own timetable. There are some similarities but there are two fundamental differences with Boris Johnson's announcement yesterday.
"The first is with the timetable itself. We have said that all of Scotland will move to level 0 on the 19th July so that includes the easing of physical distancing indoors and outdoors and then we will move beyond Level 0 from the 9th of August.
"But we expect some baseline measures for example face masks, some limitations on working from home and so will continue for a longer period of time," she told the BBC's Good Morning Scotland today.
Asked what she meant by going beyond Level 0, she added: "We mean that we are lifting the limits and lifting as much of the legal restrictions as possible, that means physical distancing, it means the attendee caps on for example life events like weddings or being in stadiums and that kind of thing but we do think there will be some baseline measures such as the wearing of face masks which will continue for a longer period of while as we know the virus is still with us and that it is still infectious."
Forbes went on to say Scotland was still in a fragile situation with the virus, though because of the vaccination programme, the link between contracting Covid and hospital admission was weakening.
"It is our hope that we can continue over the next three weeks in particular to vaccinate as many people as possible because that is what gives protection, that double vaccination, with a view to being able to move back to normality," she added.
The latest Scottish Government figures published on yesterday afternoon show the death toll under the daily measure - of people who first tested positive for the virus within the previous 28 days - is now 7,735.
The daily test positivity rate is 10.2%, down from 12.6% the previous day.
A total of 346 people were in hospital on Monday with recently confirmed Covid-19, up eight in 24 hours, with 32 patients in intensive care, up two.
So far, 3,879,458 people have received their first dose of a Covid-19 vaccination and 2,791,071 have received their second dose.
Over the weekend it emerged that infection rates in several parts of Scotland are among the worst in Europe.
According to the World Health Organisation, which is tracking new cases across the continent, six of the ten regions with the highest rates are in Scotland.
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Data published online and last updated on June 30 revealed that Tayside had recorded 1,002 cases per 100,000 head of population over the previous fortnight, followed by Lothian (990) and Greater Glasgow (735).
Other Scottish regions in the top ten include Ayrshire and Arran (579), Lanarkshire (571) and Fife (558).
The disclosure followed a week of soaring infections in Scotland. More than 24,000 people tested positive for the virus and 17 died.
More than 300 people are in hospital with 25 in intensive care. The Office for National Statistics said Scotland continued to have the highest Covid rate in the UK last week, with about one in every 150 people thought to have the virus. This equates to about 35,900 people.
The rise has been linked to Scotland fans who travelled to London for last month’s Euro 2020 match against England. More than 1,290 fans have tested positive, including nearly 400 who were at the game.
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