'Extremely high' compliance with mandatory face coverings in shops, says Nicola Sturgeon

The First Minister thanked the public for abiding by the rules.

First Minister Nicola Sturgeon said the law around face coverings in shops had seen "extremely high" compliance

Compliance with the new law which made wearing a face covering in a shop compulsory has been “extremely high”, the First Minister has said.

Nicola Sturgeon was speaking at her daily coronavirus briefing and the comments come just three days after the rule came into force in Scotland on Friday July 10.

Prior to the new law mandating face coverings in all shops, they had been compulsory on public transport since June 22.

Concerns had been raised about how the rule would be enforced

Ms Sturgeon said: “Saturday and yesterday was the first full weekend when face coverings were mandatory in shops and everything I’ve seen or heard through social media through other reports and actually through my own brief visit to a couple of shops yesterday, everything suggests that compliance with the new law has been extremely high indeed and I want to thank everybody for that.

"It is what I would have expected, but nevertheless it is still welcome.”

The First Minister added that face coverings should be worn in indoor shopping malls and other indoor places where social distancing is difficult to maintain.

She said: "Face coverings are of course now mandatory in shops and on public transport but it is also worth remembering that they can be useful in other indoor and closed spaces too.

"If you’re inside somewhere and it is not easy to maintain physical distancing, it’s a good idea to have a face covering on then as well.

"Indoor shopping malls open today and you should wear your face covering not just in the shops but also inside the shared spaces in the shopping malls.

"My thanks to everyone who is now wearing a face covering, it is a really important way in which all of us can help to protect each other.”

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