A SCOTTISH Sainsbury’s store ran an incorrect Tannoy announcement advising customers that wearing masks is no longer mandatory despite legislation requiring face coverings in supermarkets.
A concerned customer wrote online after visiting the store in Garthdee, Aberdeen, and hearing an announcement setting out the English rules for mask-wearing in shops.
Daniel Massie reported that the message, broadcast to the large shop, stated that wearing a mask is “now a personal choice”.
According to the Scottish Government people must, by law, wear a face covering in “any premises open to members of the public and used for the retail sale or hire of goods or services, such as shops”. Coverings are legally required in most indoor spaces in Scotland unless a person has an exemption.
It is now little over a week since England’s rules on face coverings changed – there is no longer legislation which mandates people to wear masks in indoor settings south of the Border.
Sainsbury’s is still encouraging the wearing of masks in England despite the change, and in response to the concerned customer the supermarket’s Twitter account highlighted a statement on that guidance with no reference to Scotland at all. “For the latest information on this please view the following link,” they told Massie.
SNP MSP James Dornan told the supermarket: “Scotland is not England. Please update your guidance/rules.”
READ MORE: LNER: Scottish ministers lash out at train firm over social distancing rules
A spokesperson for Sainsbury’s told The National: “An incorrect tannoy announcement was made at our Garthdee store.
“We’re sorry for any confusion this may have caused and we are updating our systems to prevent this from happening again.”
If a member of the public fails to wear a face covering in a place where it is required, Police Scotland can issue penalty notices of £60.
Though further Covid restrictions are set to be eased from August 9, Scotland’s First Minister said earlier this month that the country will not be ending its legal mask requirement “anytime really soon” despite England ditching them on July 19.
Nicola Sturgeon said face coverings would likely still be required on public transport and in shops, and would not give a firm date for when that would come to an end.
"If you wear a face covering, however much you hate doing it, you are helping protect someone else. If you happen to have the virus, you are reducing the risk you pass it to someone else,” she told a coronavirus briefing.
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