Aldi provides face masks for store staff in Inverness during coronavirus lockdown

Aldi staff in Inverness are among employees of the supermarket giant who are to be provided with face masks.

They are to be provided on an optional basis and follow the provision of gloves and screens at tills to help protect staff from Covid-19 infection.

Yesterday the Scottish Government said it was recommending the use of face masks as a "precautionary measure" in circumstances where social distancing might be difficult, such as on public transport or on shops.

The recommendation came despite First Minister Nicola Sturgeon describing the evidence for their usefulness as "relatively weak".

the option of face masks to all its store-based staff to further support their safety as they continue to feed the nation.

The supermarket has also introduced a voucher scheme, to make it easier for volunteers to buy food on behalf of the vulnerable and those who are self-isolating and says it is supporting British producers – by agreeing to buy additional volumes of British beef from farmers faced with surplus product due to closures of restaurants and catering businesses; and increasing orders of spring plants that would otherwise be disposed of because of the closure of their normal routes to market.

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