Will Nicola Sturgeon’s mask restrictions have any effect?

As England axes the last of its Covid regulations, Nicola Sturgeon is extending Scotland’s – saying that mask wearing in shops, on buses, trains and taxis will be continued ‘for a further short period’. You can see why. Cases are surging and Scottish hospitals have more Covid patients than at any point during the winter. Weekly Covid-related deaths are 14 per cent higher than in England.

But given that England didn’t bring in any additional Christmas restrictions and ended mask wearing at the end of January – and now has lower Covid cases than Scotland – it seems fair to ask: will Sturgeon’s measures actually help?

When Omicron reached Britain’s shores in November, questionable modelling from Sage piled immense pressure on the government to take action and lockdown. In the end though, the flaws in Sage’s models were pointed out and their assumptions questioned by cabinet ministers, leading Boris to let Christmas go ahead without new restrictions.