Scotland set to get rid of vaccine passports and classroom mask wearing as Covid restrictions ease

Scotland are set to ease their Covid restrictions from today.

New rules will include the public no longer needing to use vaccine passports to get into certain venues as well as masks in the classroom being scrapped.

Scrapping rules on face coverings:

School staff and pupils will no longer have to wear masks while they are in the classroom but those who still want to wear a face covering will be free to do so.

Masks will still need to be worn in "indoor communal areas" according to the new guidance.

This comes more than a year after older students were asked to wear face coverings in the areas with the highest rates of coronavirus on 2 November 2020.

The rule was then extended to all secondary pupils in Scotland.

No more vaccine passports:

Businesses are no longer legally required to ask for vaccine passports, though some may still ask to do so.

But the Scottish government guidance says there must be a reason to ask for this information.

Vaccine passports have been in place since 1 October 2021, with them temporarily coming into operation in England as well.

The public had to show evidence that they'd had their vaccinations or a negative Covid test before entering certain venues such as nightclubs.

First Minister Nicola Sturgeon announced the changes to Scotland's Covid rules last week during a statement in the Scottish Parliament.

This is as well as saying that most other restrictions would also be dropped next month after coming into place March 2020.