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Scotland’s Prime Minister Nicola Sturgeon apologized after she violated Covid-19 rules by removing her mask at a funeral.
A photograph published in the Scottish Sun showed Sturgeon chatting with three women in a bar while standing at a distance but not wearing a mask.
Under the Scottish government’s coronavirus rules, customers in hospitality venues are required to wear a face cover except when seated and must wear one when moving.
Sturgeon was attending the funeral of a Scottish government official.
She said: “Last Friday, while attending a funeral, I took off my mask briefly. It was a stupid mistake and I’m so sorry.
“I talk about the importance of masks every day, so I’m not going to offer any excuses.
“I was wrong, I’m kicking myself and I’m sorry.”
A Scottish Conservative spokesman said the Prime Minister should know better. “By forgetting the rules and not setting an appropriate example, you are undermining essential public health messages.
“It is a mistake that an ordinary member of the public would not get away with it. There cannot be one rule for Nicola Sturgeon and another for everyone else.”
In accordance with the coronavirus regulations introduced on September 14 in Scotland, face covers for customers and staff are mandatory when entering, leaving and moving around hospitality venues.
The rules state: “There is an exemption for when customers sit for food and drink service and for roles in the back of the house, such as kitchen staff or staff behind protective screens that separate them. customers “.
Those who violate the facial coverage rules can face a £ 60 fine.
Latest coronavirus stories
Meanwhile, more areas of England could plunge into Level 4 starting on December 26, while a massive testing program would be put in place to ease congestion on the border between France and Britain.
The reports suggested that ministers would meet today to decide whether more parts of the country would be put under the strictest restrictions amid fears about the spread of a new mutant strain of coronavirus.
It came as France lifted its travel ban and allowed travel from the UK to resume, but said those seeking to travel must test negative for the coronavirus.
The Daily Telegraph reported that local leaders and health officials in Birmingham met Tuesday night to discuss the possibility of the city moving to Level 4, while areas at the lower levels could move to Level 3.
Genomic researchers have discovered that the new variant, said to be 70% more infectious than previous strains, has already spread across the UK, with cases identified in Wales and Scotland.
Health chiefs in Cumbria have said the new variant is in the county and could be behind sharp increases in new cases, while Lancashire’s director of public health said there was a “high probability” that the new variant was in the county.
UK GPs Warn of Coronavirus Vaccine Delay
The UK government has been urged to speed up delivery of the coronavirus vaccine amid mounting concerns about the new Covid variant.
The Guardian reports that “more than half” of hospital trusts and two-thirds of GPs have yet to receive their vaccine supplies, as the highly communicable mutant strain continues to spread across the UK, with cases identified in Wales and Scotland.
Dr Richard Vautrey, chairman of the British Medical Association’s committee for general medicine, warned that lives would be lost if delivery of the Pfizer / BioNTech vaccine is not accelerated.
He told the newspaper: “We need millions of doses to be available as soon as possible, urgently, because it is the number one priority for GP practices, our patients and the nation, especially given the new mutant strain.”
“GPs who haven’t received it yet are frustrated because they want to go ahead and vaccinate their patients as well.”
The sentiment has been shared by Labor leader Keir Starmer, who wrote in a letter to British Prime Minister Boris Johnson that the vaccine should be implemented “as quickly as possible”.
Johnson said Monday that more than half a million Britons had already received their first dose of the two-component vaccine.
Overall, the UK has ordered 40 million doses of the Pfizer jab, enough to vaccinate 20 million people.
But amid the disruption in British ports caused by countries implementing travel bans on the Covid variant, the Royal College of GPs has called on the government to be more transparent with vaccine supply figures.
The president, Professor Martin Marshall, told The Guardian: “Now we need information about the supply we already have in the country and when the future supply is expected to arrive.”
A spokesman for the Department of Health and Welfare told the newspaper that the government has “sufficient” doses to maintain the vaccination program and is “working closely with Pfizer to ensure that vaccines continue to reach the UK”.
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