Scots may be asked to give their names and phone numbers in pubs before being served

Nicola Sturgeon said the Scottish government was considering imposing similar rules as in Australia and New Zealand.

Scots may have to leave their names and phone numbers before ordering food and drinks when pubs and restaurants reopen in future.

Supporters of the move say it would allow businesses to trace people who had visited them in case another customer started showing symptoms of coronavirus.

Speaking at her daily press briefing, First Minister Nicola Sturgeon said the rules, which have already been implemented in countries like Australia and New Zealand, were “something that is under consideration.”

Scots may have to leave their names and phone numbers before ordering food and drinks when pubs and restaurants reopen in future.

Ministers are also thought to be mulling over the rules in England, where many pubs have already reopened to serve take-away pints.

It comes amid an ongoing debate around appropriate social distancing measures, with some arguing that the decision to enforce a two metre separation between people in public spaces was overly cautious.

Downing Street is expected to agree to ease the two metre rule for England’s hospitality sector to just one metre, provided that customers wear face coverings.

In Scotland, the expected reopening of beer gardens and outdoor restaurant spaces was postponed on Thursday, June 18, when Ms Sturgeon announced that Scotland was entering Phase Two of her lockdown easing plan.

The First Minister insisted that she wanted to seek further advice before giving the green light to pubs and restaurants, which she called potential “hotspots” for transmission of the virus.

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