First Minister steps back from scrapping face masks as covid cases soar in West Lothian

dailyrecord.co.uk:

First Minister Nicola Sturgeon today took a step back from scrapping remaining covid restrictions - as cases soared by nearly 50 per cent in West Lothian.She had been expected to announce this afternoon that face coverings are not longer required in indoor spaces, but instead said the move will be reviewed in two weeks after a spike in casesIn West Lothian, the last seven day total for the county rose by 43 per cent compared to the previous period, with 2335 cases being recorded.As of March 10, there was sadly one death reported.The areas with the highest rates of infections as of March 8 were Craigshill with 88 new infections, Bathgate West with 87, Linlithgow Bridge with 86 and Bathgate, Wester Inch and Inchcross with 84.The picture of increasing cases is reflected across Scotland (Office of National Statistics) ONS data showed one in 18 people in Scotland had covid in the week to March 6.She said so-called ‘stealth-Omicron’ is now the dominant strain in Scotland.The First Minister continued: “Given the current spike in case numbers, we consider it prudent to retain this requirement in regulation for a further short period.“I know this will be disappointing for businesses and service providers such as day care services.“However, ensuring maximum widespread use of face coverings will provide some additional protection - particularly for the most vulnerable - at a time when the risk of infection is very high, and it may help us get over this spike more quickly.“We will review it again in two weeks - before the Easter recess - and our expectation now is that this regulation will convert to guidance in early April.”She went on to say that after the Easter weekend, people will no longer be required to do a lateral flow test