Covid rules: What's law and what's not?
- Published
The lives of people in Scotland are currently governed by an unprecedented range of rules and restrictions. But which of the coronavirus suppression measures can be enforced by law, and which ones are guidance?
Visits at home
People have been banned from visiting other households indoors since 25 September, with some exemptions for couples who don't live together, extended households and childcare arrangements.
Restrictions on household visits in Scotland are legally enforceable - as has been demonstrated by police breaking up hundreds of house parties and other large gatherings.
Should any part of Scotland be moved into Level 0, then up to eight people from three households will be allowed to meet indoors there.
And in future Level 1 may be tweaked to allow six people from two households to meet indoors - but at present, the law prohibits this.
Travel
In recent months, the only travel rules which have been enforceable by law have been quarantine rules for people travelling from some other parts of the world.
When the new five-level Covid alert system was introduced it did not include mandatory travel restrictions, with Ms Sturgeon acknowledging that these would be difficult to enforce.
However, from 18:00 on Friday 20 November, that changes.
New regulations, external will make it an offence to travel in or out of a council area which is in level three or four without "reasonable excuse".
There is an extensive list of possible exemptions listed in the regulations - including travelling for work, essential shopping, accessing childcare, or visiting a care home.
And the rules don't just apply within Scotland - there are also to be "restrictions on leaving or entering Scotland".
This section of the law carries a similarly long list of exemptions, but the thrust is clear - people who live in Scotland should not leave without good reason, and those living elsewhere in the UK or even in the Republic of Ireland should not enter.
Beyond the new laws, there continues to be advice on avoiding public transport unless absolutely necessary and not to car-share - but this is guidance rather than a legal requirement.
Face coverings
The wearing of face coverings in various settings is included in the law, and can be enforced on anyone over the age of five.
There are exemptions for people with specific health conditions, external, couples taking part in marriage or civil partnership ceremonies, shop staff who are physically separated by plastic screens and emergency responders.
These laws cover public transport (other than school transport) and most indoor places, including:
Shops
Bars and restaurants
Banks and post offices
Places of worship
Communal areas of workplaces
Museums and cinemas.
While immediate sanctions could include people being refused service in shops and restaurants for failing to comply with the rules, the police can also intervene and levy fines for non-compliance.
Shopping and eating out
The rules covering whether or not shops, pubs and restaurants can open are underpinned by regulations, running from very few closures in Level 0 areas to wide-ranging ones in Level 4.
They have been simplified somewhat under the latest set of regulations, with there no longer being a need for a legal definition of what constitutes a "cafe".
Many of the rules affecting staff and customers are also subject to legal requirements.
It is the law that food and drink can only be served to a customer who is seated, and who remains seated while consuming it.
Businesses have a duty to collect customer contact details for the Test and Protect system - and to store them securely in line with data protection laws.
However, customers technically do not have a legal requirement to provide them. Premises are advised to refuse service, external to people who refuse to provide their details.
Those responsible for businesses and places of worship also have a responsibility in law to make sure people maintain physical distancing "so far as reasonably practical" and to take steps to minimise the risk of the virus spreading, for instance by installing screens or changing the layout of the premises.
This extends outside, if there is a queue to enter - businesses must make sure they only admit sufficiently small numbers of customers to maintain physical distancing inside, and ensure people remain two metres (6ft 6in) apart in the queue.
Work
Throughout the pandemic, people in Scotland have been advised to work from home wherever possible. Employers have been urged to "make every reasonable effort to make working from home the default position".
There is not a specific set of Covid-19 regulations underpinning this - other than where the law forces businesses to close altogether, and the responsibility it places on firms to maintain workplace health and safety.
However, there is a raft of guidance in place for those operating offices and other workplaces to maintain physical distancing and increase hygiene and cleaning routines.
They have also been encouraged to take measures to reduce the wider risks for staff who do have to come to work, such as by staggering start and finish times to ease the traditional "rush hour".
One thing that has been put down in law, as noted above, is the wearing of face coverings in communal areas of offices.
