Nicola Sturgeon has announced mask laws in enclosed public spaces and on public transport have been extended until at least April across Scotland, despite previously planning to rescind them on March 21st. Spooked by a spike in cases again, this time over yet another variant, Sturgeon insisted the move was “prudent”:
“Given the current spike in case numbers, we consider it prudent to retain this requirement and regulation for a short period. I know this will be disappointing… [however] this will provide some additional protection.”
Sturgeon also slammed Westminster’s decision to roll back testing infrastructure in England by the end of this month, claiming limited central funding to Scotland prevents Holyrood from extending their own testing programme beyond the end of April. Yet again, Sturgeon’s bottled it over an inevitable rise in cases. Scotland and Wales also brought back restrictions over Christmas, with almost no effect on cases or hospitalisation rates compared to England. Given face masks haven’t been required in England for a month and cases here are lower, you don’t have to be an epidemiologist to reckon they may not be the solution Sturgeon’s hoping for…
