Fewer than half of Scots 'fully’ comply with Covid rules

Fewer than half of Scots say they fully comply with official Covid-19 restrictions, polling has revealed.

Masks are mandatory on public transport

This includes one in eight who say they don't follow rules on meeting others, such as the "rule of six” and entering other households.

And a fifth of people say they would "adapt" the guidance as they don't think it is all necessary.

The lack of adherence to guidance is both down to a lack of confidence in the guidelines, which also includes wearing face masks in enclosed areas, as well as understanding what they are.

The problems have emerged in the latest polling carried out by YouGov between 19 September and 1 October.

The Scottish Government is now pledging to act on the findings and improve adherence to the rules.

"Over the coming period, we will work with the public and sectoral partners to review our approach to compliance and mitigations and ensure that barriers to compliance are addressed," a report published by ministers states.

The report finds there are "a number of areas where compliance could be improved”.

Two in five people (38 per cent) report ‘complete compliance’. This means they rated themselves as seven on a scale of one (no compliance) to seven (complete compliance). A further 41 per cent reported almost complete. A fifth (19%) reported a score of 1-5 (lower compliance).

In addition 22 per cent said they would "adapt" the guidance as they don't think everything is necessary.

Men, under-45s, and those in households with children are more likely to agree they ‘adapt’ guidance than their counterparts.

It comes as fresh measures are introduced for the next fortnight to halt the spread of Covid-19, including the closure of pubs across central Scotland. The public in the Central Belt are also being advised not to travel outwith their health board area.

The findings show that 6 per cent hugged or kissed someone not in their household in the past week, while 5 per cent shared a car with someone and did not open windows or wear a face covering, in contravention of the rules.

General compliance with wearing face coverings is high.

Overall 12 per cent said they did not comply with meeting rules which includes not entering other households and not meeting in groups of more than six from two different households.

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