So could you be forced to wear a mask at your desk?
SCOTS should be made to wear masks while sitting at their desks at work, a key Holyrood adviser has warned.
Professor Linda Bauld said it would be an ‘important’ option for the Scottish Government as it tries to suppress Covid numbers.
Meanwhile, the SNP has also raised the possibility of children being made to hold vaccine certificates.
First Minister Nicola Sturgeon is due to make an announcement about efforts to contain the virus on Tuesday.
It is expected the Government will introduce some measures to reduce transmission, with fears the NHS could be overwhelmed this winter, and Christmas put at risk again, if case numbers are not brought under control.
That is unlikely to be a return to lockdown – but masks, vaccine passports and more working from home are all under consideration.
‘In an office, you could say that would require a face covering’
Yesterday, there were 3,052 new Covid cases, a further 13 deaths, and a total of 59 people in intensive care.
Professor Bauld, of Edinburgh University, advises the Government, but was talking about steps the evidence suggests it should take – not what Ministers currently intend to do. It is understood that talks to date have focused more on ways of encouraging compliance with existing mask laws.
She said masks in outdoor sporting arenas, such as Hampden and Murrayfield, could also be a possibility.
‘You could suggest that when outside there’s a far lower risk, but it’s not zero. So that could be a scenario, yes,’ she said.
‘The other important one is if you’re in an office, separated by a distance of one metre, or with a screen. You could say that would require a face covering. That might be one area.’
Ministers may also widen use of the vaccine passport scheme, from nightclubs to other hospitality and leisure venues, a move which would infuriate the industry. That also raises the prospect of them being required in venues attended by youngsters. Health Secretary Humza Yousaf said last week: ‘All under 18year-olds are exempt from our Covid-19 status certification scheme. We will, however, keep this under review as the vaccine is rolled out to younger age groups.’
Scottish Lib Dem leader Alex Cole Hamilton said: ‘It is really worrying to now be told that the age limit is under review.’
A Scottish Government spokesman said last night: ‘No decisions have yet been made about potential changes to the scope of the vaccine certification scheme.’