Easing of Coronavirus restrictions in Scotland

[Scotrail314209]

Is that true in Scotland? In England there was never any legal requirement for a business to enforce mask-wearing, beyond the requirement to inform (via a sign or other means) that it was required. The penalties were all for individuals who didn't follow this information. (I'm sure there were activist councils that tried to go above-and-beyond that, of course).

That said, I do understand your point that businesses have been repeatedly put in intolerable situations over the past 18 months and it may be reasonable to give them a little slack on occasion.

I believe it was a legal requirement to enforce masks when not seated.

 

[Highlandspring]

You may be wondering why face coverings are still mandatory in Scotland? Well according to the BBC it’s because John Swinney saw them when he was on holiday: -

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-58136277

However, Mr Swinney, the Scottish government's minister for Covid recovery, warned that face coverings were likely to a "significant" part of life in Scotland "at least through the winter".

"When I've travelled in Asia there is a common use of face coverings by individuals... and it becomes part of the cultural activity of particular countries," he said.

"I don't know if that will happen here, but I think some people will feel safer as a consequence of wearing face coverings."

He thinks ’some people will feel safer‘ which I’m sure everyone will agree is a solid scientific basis for the legal compulsion to cover your face in public for the indefinite future.

In any case, around where I am I‘ve noticed a marked decline in face covering in supermarkets and public transport over the last fortnight. I shop at two different Tesco stores and an Aldi and until recently it was very rare to see anyone bare faced in store since the mandate came in but over my last few visits I’ve seen more and more people going without. I was in the busy Union Square shopping centre in Aberdeen last week and I’d estimate as many as 1 in 5 folk were bare faced. Similarly I’ve noticed that the majority of railway staff, bus drivers and bus and rail passengers I‘ve seen over the last couple of weeks have not been wearing a face covering, or at least not actually wearing it over their mouth or nose.

I think people’s tolerance for this ridiculous placebo measure is really starting to wane and, having very reluctantly complied in shops up till now, personally I’m ditching it as of today.

 

[kez19]

Yay! The stickers of “please take a window seat” are off the buses in my area!

He thinks ’some people will feel safer‘ which I’m sure everyone will agree is a solid scientific basis for the legal compulsion to cover your face in public for the indefinite future.

In any case, around where I am I‘ve noticed a marked decline in face covering in supermarkets and public transport over the last fortnight. I shop at two different Tesco stores and an Aldi and until recently it was very rare to see anyone bare faced in store since the mandate came in but over my last few visits I’ve seen more and more people going without. I was in the busy Union Square shopping centre in Aberdeen last week and I’d estimate as many as 1 in 5 folk were bare faced. Similarly I’ve noticed that the majority of railway staff, bus drivers and bus and rail passengers I‘ve seen over the last couple of weeks have not been wearing a face covering, or at least not actually wearing it over their mouth or nose.

I think people’s tolerance for this ridiculous placebo measure is really starting to wane and, having very reluctantly complied in shops up till now, personally I’m ditching it as of today.

Aah Swinney trying to imply a new normal in Scotland, did he say the wrong part out loudly than kept it quiet?

and it becomes part of the cultural activity of particular countries," he said.

So he implies we keep this charade through winter then what happens in 2022?, it becomes the new norm in Scotland? Seems to me as if they are trying to usher the mask wearing as a permanent feature? So will we see them off in Spring or do we think they will prolong more?

The public should campaign for the likes of him that if in Holyrood have one on too.

 

[takno]

Is that true in Scotland? In England there was never any legal requirement for a business to enforce mask-wearing, beyond the requirement to inform (via a sign or other means) that it was required. The penalties were all for individuals who didn't follow this information. (I'm sure there were activist councils that tried to go above-and-beyond that, of course).

That said, I do understand your point that businesses have been repeatedly put in intolerable situations over the past 18 months and it may be reasonable to give them a little slack on occasion.

The rules are slightly different in Scotland regarding obligations on businesses to enforce mask-wearing and name-taking. I'm not sure anybody's likely to get prosecuted for it, but I get the impression that most local authorities have been throwing around an inappropriate amount of "soft pressure" in Scotland, and implying that they will get shut down for failing in their public safety obligations is likely to be just as effective as specific laws.

 

[philosopher]

You may be wondering why face coverings are still mandatory in Scotland? Well according to the BBC it’s because John Swinney saw them when he was on holiday: -



He thinks ’some people will feel safer‘ which I’m sure everyone will agree is a solid scientific basis for the legal compulsion to cover your face in public for the indefinite future.

In any case, around where I am I‘ve noticed a marked decline in face covering in supermarkets and public transport over the last fortnight. I shop at two different Tesco stores and an Aldi and until recently it was very rare to see anyone bare faced in store since the mandate came in but over my last few visits I’ve seen more and more people going without. I was in the busy Union Square shopping centre in Aberdeen last week and I’d estimate as many as 1 in 5 folk were bare faced. Similarly I’ve noticed that the majority of railway staff, bus drivers and bus and rail passengers I‘ve seen over the last couple of weeks have not been wearing a face covering, or at least not actually wearing it over their mouth or nose.

I think people’s tolerance for this ridiculous placebo measure is really starting to wane and, having very reluctantly complied in shops up till now, personally I’m ditching it as of today.

It very much sounds like he wants masks to a permanent fixture in people’s lives. I note he said they will be significant part of life until at least through the winter, which suggests the Scottish government is thinking of keeping them compulsory for longer.

 

[greyman42]

It very much sounds like he wants masks to a permanent fixture in people’s lives. I note he said they will be significant part of life until at least through the winter, which suggests the Scottish government is thinking of keeping them compulsory for longer.

Would the people of Scotland actually put up with this?
Surely this would be a disaster for tourism?

 

[Huntergreed]

It very much sounds like he wants masks to a permanent fixture in people’s lives. I note he said they will be significant part of life until at least through the winter, which suggests the Scottish government is thinking of keeping them compulsory for longer.

Yes, I’m pretty sure the current estimate is late spring/early summer 2022 for lifting the mask mandate.

Another year of them to look forward to, lucky us!

Would the people of Scotland actually put up with this?
Surely this would be a disaster for tourism?

The people of Scotland have shown:

1) they are more than happy to follow sturgeons authoritarian nonsense

2) they don’t want tourists (especially English tourists!) invading their country.

 

[Bungle73]

Looks like I will be canceling my booked trip to Edinburgh for next May then.

 

[Highlandspring]

Yes, I’m pretty sure the current estimate is late spring/early summer 2022 for lifting the mask mandate.

Another year of them to look forward to, lucky us!


The people of Scotland have shown:

1) they are more than happy to follow sturgeons authoritarian nonsense

Anecdotally, what I see around me every day and my experience of talking to family, friends and colleagues suggests that people here - even those who were previously very pro-restrictions - are now getting cynical and fed up of the whole thing. A significant propotion of the population were already only paying lip service to the restrictions after christmas and every day more and more folk realise that the decisions being made by celebrity dentist Jason Leitch the government are illogical and pointless.

Did the government really think that people were paying any attention at all to their insane ‘no more than x from y households can meet indoors, unless it’s a tuesday on an odd numbered day of the month and the number of adult guests is divisible evenly by 3‘ rules? Away from the pro-mask echo chambers of Twitter and Reddit most folk I know couldn’t keep up with the crazy changes and just couldn’t give a toss about it all either. Rebranding the rules ‘mitigations’ rather than ‘restrictions’ isn‘t fooling many people.

I have covered my face in shops since the mandate came in just to keep the peace but the growing numbers of bare faces I see every visit has given me the confidence to not bother in future.

 

[MattA7]

Am I the only one who thinks the only reason Sturgeon is doing this is to avoid doing the same as England in much the way she refused to use the Oxford in the AstraZeneca vaccine and has insisted on a separate Scottish covid app (at the taxpayers expense). Even though she was offered the English one for free. Personally I think it’s all nationalistic nonsense masquerading as public health measures.

Incidentally over the past couple of months the opinion polls for Scottish independence had drifted back to the no independence side despite a few months of yes majority. Could her behavior and excessive restrictions be a factor in this?

 

[Falcon1200]

1) they are more than happy to follow sturgeons authoritarian nonsense

2) they don’t want tourists (especially English tourists!) invading their country.

Neither statement is true of most people in Scotland.

 

[Huntergreed]

Neither statement is true of most people in Scotland.

Correct, but by far the most vocal Scots are indeed one (or both) of these.

 

[Merseysider]

Neither statement is true of most people in Scotland.

Completely agree.

Everyone I encountered on Skye last week couldn’t have been more welcoming, despite my obvious Scouse accent! They were genuinely happy to see visitors again.

There was also a clear resistance to mask wearing not just there but in Edinburgh, Glasgow and Inverness too, plus on the trains.

Sturgeon will look weak if her “rules” are disobeyed en masse so we may yet see an earlier relaxation than Spring.

 

[Berliner]

I can't think of anyone who would not come to Scotland because of the mask rule. Indeed it is more relaxed than most western European countries seem to be right now. We may not be as relaxed as England, but to suggest a mask mandate affects tourism is ridiculous. The whole world has been wearing them for 18 months, no one is going to avoid a country for a holiday because they still want you to wear one in a shop! People are just happy to get away!

The main barrier to inbound tourism was the need to isolate or the inability to travel around the UK and book accommodation. Now those have been scrapped for domestic and a huge number of foreign tourists, as well as many European countries also scrapping it for vaccinated arrivals and returning citizens, the numbers of tourists will creep up again as we get through the last few weeks of summer and the limited festival. Those of you cancelling holidays to Scotland because of a mask are free to do as you wish, but your place will quickly be taken by people who can cope with not needing to wear one for 99% of thier day. I'm hearing more and more foreign accents in Edinburgh every time I go up town and you're never very far away from an English group either, the airport and your buses gets busier each time they go past my window too, which also overlooks the increasingly busy landing path into Edinburgh airport, so quite who isn't welcome is beyond me. It's very much a case of doors opening again.

As for seperate NHS apps. Every UK nation has a different one because their relevant NHS came up with a different one. Yes it cost the tax payers, just as using the English one would have, just as everything with Covid has done. I seem to remember, back at the start of all the contract tracing apps the English one didn't actually work properly and had to have more money thrown at it to get it to function. The Scottish one, which came out shortly after, worked right away.

 

[Falcon1200]

Correct, but by far the most vocal Scots are indeed one (or both) of these.

You are right, and of course division and difference are exploited and welcomed by our ruling party here in Scotland, and their most zealous supporters.

 

[greyman42]

I can't think of anyone who would not come to Scotland because of the mask rule.

As much as i like Scotland and the Scots, I will not be visiting while the SNP has its mask requirements for hospitality.
I know there are others who have the same view.

 

[island]

As much as i like Scotland and the Scots, I will not be visiting while the SNP has its mask requirements for hospitality.
I know there are others who have the same view.

I am the same, except without the "for hospitality" bit.

 

[Butts]

Yes, I’m pretty sure the current estimate is late spring/early summer 2022 for lifting the mask mandate.

Another year of them to look forward to, lucky us!


The people of Scotland have shown:

1) they are more than happy to follow sturgeons authoritarian nonsense

2) they don’t want tourists (especially English tourists!) invading their country.

Speak for yourself we are not all lemmings

 

[Highlandspring]

So has anyone in Scotland noticed any changes in public spaces since Monday? Every shop I’ve seen or been in so far has still had tape and stickers on the floor, limits on how many folk are allowed to come in, stupid announcements, perspex screens everywhere etc.. So much for beyond zero, as far as I can see absolutely nothing has changed at all.

 

[Huntergreed]

So has anyone in Scotland noticed any changes in public spaces since Monday? Every shop I’ve seen or been in so far has still had tape and stickers on the floor, limits on how many folk are allowed to come in, stupid announcements, perspex screens everywhere etc.. So much for beyond zero, as far as I can see absolutely nothing has changed at all.

Nope. All legal restrictions are gone, but they’re all still guidance so nothing has really changed. All the social distancing and one way systems are staying because of it still being guidance, which is sad.

It feels no different

 

[D1024]

I was in our local Co-op today - all the one way signs & floor stickers have gone.

 

[takno]

So has anyone in Scotland noticed any changes in public spaces since Monday? Every shop I’ve seen or been in so far has still had tape and stickers on the floor, limits on how many folk are allowed to come in, stupid announcements, perspex screens everywhere etc.. So much for beyond zero, as far as I can see absolutely nothing has changed at all.

I was in a bar last night. Staff were about 50% masked. Didn't appear to care whether customers were or not, no sign of distancing, order at the bar, and I didn't even see a reference to T&T. I won't name it because the council would probably be down on them like a ton of bricks, but it was very nice.

 

[Highlandspring]

I was in a bar last night. Staff were about 50% masked. Didn't appear to care whether customers were or not, no sign of distancing, order at the bar, and I didn't even see a reference to T&T. I won't name it because the council would probably be down on them like a ton of bricks, but it was very nice.

Well that’s good to hear. I haven’t been in a pub since January 2020 and I don’t think I’ll be going to any until at least late summer next year at this rate.

 

[Ian Cunningham]

As much as i like Scotland and the Scots, I will not be visiting while the SNP has its mask requirements for hospitality.
I know there are others who have the same view.

Seriously? - they only mask requirement in hospitality is while moving around the premises. You wouldn't visit because you would occasionally have wear a face covering for a few minutes at a time?

Although, under the "three D's" of Dancing, Drinking and Dining if you dance to the loo while drinking your pint, does that mean you don't need to wear your face covering?

 

[185143]

So has anyone in Scotland noticed any changes in public spaces since Monday? Every shop I’ve seen or been in so far has still had tape and stickers on the floor, limits on how many folk are allowed to come in, stupid announcements, perspex screens everywhere etc.. So much for beyond zero, as far as I can see absolutely nothing has changed at all.

The Caledonian Sleeper lounge cars are back open. But other than that it seemed no different when I came up for a trip up the West Highland Line. Aside from the fact that mask compliance on my 156 was far, far lower than a lot of trains in England! Though a fair few people seemed to be applying the Hospitality rules and putting masks on if they got up and went to the bog, but removing them when seated.

 

[greyman42]

Seriously? - they only mask requirement in hospitality is while moving around the premises. You wouldn't visit because you would occasionally have wear a face covering for a few minutes at a time?

Yes, i will not be visiting while there is any requirements to wear masks. If they can manage OK without them in England then why not Scotland?

 

[Scotrail314209]

Scotrail said the other day that face coverings won’t be enforced and that they are “personal responsibility.”

 

[Berliner]

So has anyone in Scotland noticed any changes in public spaces since Monday? Every shop I’ve seen or been in so far has still had tape and stickers on the floor, limits on how many folk are allowed to come in, stupid announcements, perspex screens everywhere etc.. So much for beyond zero, as far as I can see absolutely nothing has changed at all.

What's wrong with perspex screens?

For many years when I worked in retail or other customer facing roles I often wanted something that separated me from customers like that for numerous reasons. Of all the things we have had to endure surely you're not upset about plastic screens protecting workers?

 

[Scotrail314209]

What's wrong with perspex screens?

For many years when I worked in retail or other customer facing roles I often wanted something that separated me from customers like that for numerous reasons. Of all the things we have had to endure surely you're not upset about plastic screens protecting workers?

Main reason being in case someone gets violent or aggressive? Without a screen staff are vulnerable to being hurt.

 

[takno]

What's wrong with perspex screens?

For many years when I worked in retail or other customer facing roles I often wanted something that separated me from customers like that for numerous reasons. Of all the things we have had to endure surely you're not upset about plastic screens protecting workers?

If people weren't upset about plastic screens protecting workers, banks wouldn't have spent so much time getting rid of them