LONDON (Reuters) – Scotland’s First Minister Nicola Sturgeon has urged people to start wearing a face mask if they are in enclosed places such as public transport and shops, diverging for now from the official advice from London.
Sturgeon said that while the evidence was limited, wearing face coverings could help prevent the spread of the novel coronavirus by those people who are not yet showing symptoms.
“We are recommending that you do wear a cloth face covering if you are in an enclosed space with others where social distancing is difficult, for example public transport or in a shop,” Sturgeon told her daily briefing.
“Let me emphasize the key point here which is that you should not really be in situations very often like that right now, if you are complying with the stay-at-home rules.”
British ministers are reviewing advice given by scientific advisers as they weigh up whether they should follow the likes of New York in ordering the use of face masks in public to reduce the transmission of the virus.
(Reporting by Kate Holton; editing by Stephen Addison)
