Watch: Face mask rule to stay in Scotland, says Sturgeon

The First Minister has delayed the lifting of Scotland’s face mask rules amid a surge in Covid case numbers.

Last month, Nicola Sturgeon announced all remaining rules, including the requirement to wear face masks in shops and on public transport, would be lifted on March 21.

However, in recent weeks the country has seen a spike in cases and the highest number of hospitalisations for more than a year.

The FM said rising cases driven by the BA.2 sub-variant meant the rule would have to stay in place beyond March 21. It will be reviewed again in two weeks’ time.

On Tuesday, Scotland recorded 25 coronavirus-linked deaths. There were 1996 people in hospital with recently confirmed Covid-19, up 191 on the previous day, with 33 in intensive care, up six.

The figures also show that 38,770 new cases of Covid-19 have been reported since Saturday March 12.

The latest Covid update comes just a day after the Scottish Government “reluctantly agreed” to lift all international travel restrictions for Scotland at a four-nation meeting.

All remaining coronavirus travel measures including passenger locator forms will end on Friday in a move to make foreign holidays easier despite the rise in UK coronavirus cases.