Scottish Government increases number of settings in which face coverings must be worn

The list of settings where face coverings must be worn in Scotland is expanding to include more indoor spaces such as cinemas, galleries, museums and banks.

Further rules for the hospitality sector, including the introduction of new statutory guidance, have been announced to increase compliance and keep the sector safely open.

While the new guidance won’t come into effect until next Friday, First Minister Nicola Sturgeon has said the hospitality industry should already be doing the right thing.

Hospitality premises should be collecting customer contact details for Test and Protect. Tables should be pre-booked where possible, with no queueing.

There should be no background music and TVs should be muted to reduce the need for people to shout or lean in to each other, and no more than three households at a time should be meeting in a group.

From next Friday (August 14) it will be mandatory to collect contact details of customers in a range of hospitality and public settings.

While exemptions to face coverings will apply, the new settings face coverings must now be worn in will include:

• any premises open to members of the public and used for the retail sale or hire of goods or services including shops; takeaway restaurants; estate agents; and beauty parlours. This does not extend to hospitality premises such as sit-in cafes and restaurants.

• aquariums, indoor zoos or visitor farms, and any other indoor tourist, heritage or cultural site

• banks, building societies and credit unions

• cinemas

• community centres

• crematoriums and funeral directors premises

• libraries and public reading rooms

• museums and galleries

• places of worship

• post offices

• storage and distribution facilities, including collection and drop off points

The First Minister said: "We’ve seen – every day of this outbreak – how easily Covid-19 can spread.

"We need to do everything we can to stop it in its tracks and that is why we are expanding the mandatory use of face coverings in more indoor public spaces, and will be implementing further regulations for the hospitality sector.

"Many of these measures should already be in place as part of the guidance, but in order to keep the sector open – safely – we are now placing them in law.

"We are the frontline in making sure that Covid doesn’t spread, and so we all need to keep doing the right things."

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