If we travel from England is a face mask required?published at 13:54 Greenwich Mean Time 22 February 2022

13:54 GMT 22 February 2022

Question from Hazel in Blackpool

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People in England are no longer legally required to wear face masks in most public spaces - although they are still recommended in some places.

But in Scotland masks must be worn , externalin most indoor public spaces including public transport, shops and gyms (although they can be temporarily removed when exercising).

They must also be worn in pubs and restaurants when not seated or dancing, and in the workplace in communal areas and canteens.

They are compulsory for all school staff as well as secondary school pupils and are required in indoor public spaces in universities.

However, pupils will no longer have to wear them in class from 28 February.

Under-12s are exempt.

Good Morning Scotland
BBC Radio Scotland

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The UK government will remove free access to mass testing in April - which academics and doctors have said is too soon.

But among those critics is Dr Alan McNally, microbiologist at the University of Birmingham, who also believes PCR testing should have been scrapped around the emergence of Omicron.

He says this is because of the cost and how little PCR tests were impacting the course of the pandemic - but says lateral flow tests still have a place, particularly for people with high risk jobs such as medical staff or teachers.

Similarly, coronavirus expert Dr Christine Tait-Burkard, of the University of Edinburgh, points out there is less need for sensitive PCR tests because they identify lots of cases who may not be high risk.

Lateral flows on the other hand are less sensitive and therefore pick up cases that are shedding more virus which are higher risk, she says. Dr Tait-Burkard believes these tests should continue to be easily accessible.

From 21 February:

• The UK government dropped guidance for staff and students in most education and childcare settings to undertake twice weekly asymptomatic testing

From Thursday 24 February:

• People who test positive for Covid will no longer be legally required to self-isolate
• But they will still be advised to stay at home and avoid contact with others for at least five full days
• Routine contact tracing will end, so fully-vaccinated close contacts and those under 18 will no longer be legally required to test daily for seven days
• The £500 self-isolation support payment for people on low incomes who test positive for Covid will no longer be available
• Covid provisions for increased statutory sick pay will apply for a further month

From 1 April:

• Free mass symptomatic and asymptomatic testing for the general public will end, and will instead be targeted towards the most vulnerable
• People with Covid symptoms will be asked to exercise personal responsibility when deciding whether to stay at home - until then they are still advised to do so
• Current government guidance on Covid passports will end and it will no longer recommend venues use the NHS Covid pass

You can read more about the changes here

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Welcome to our live coverage of the first minister's Covid update on Tuesday 22 February 2022.

Nicola Sturgeon will unveil the Scottish government's plans for managing the Covid-19 pandemic in a "much less restrictive" way in future.

The first minister will present the new "strategic framework" to MSPs in a Holyrood statement beginning around 14:20.

We will bring you the latest developments and analysis here, and you can watch the session by clicking on one of the tabs above.