Scottish First Minister Nicola Sturgeon has confirmed that shoppers will be required to wear face masks from 10 July.
Last week, we reported that retailers in Scotland were being asked to display a poster at their entrance requesting shoppers to wear face coverings.
However, wearing face masks in shops has now been made mandatory. Non-essential retail reopened in Scotland on Monday (June 29), with further restrictions eased from 6 July.
However, shopworkers trade union Usdaw is urging retailers to maintain social distancing in shops at two metres, as agreed in joint safety guidance, despite the Scottish government announcing that face coverings will be mandatory in shops.
Stewart Forrest, Usdaw’s Scottish divisional officer, said: “Usdaw worked with the Scottish Retail Consortium on joint safety guidance for shops based on the two-metre rule and in our experience retailers have taken that seriously and are complying.
“We see no reason why that should be relaxed now that the Scottish government has made face coverings mandatory in stores.”
He added: “Our big concern is who enforces mandatory face coverings? We do not want shopworkers to be expected to turn people away from the store because they do not have a face covering or it is not being worn properly.
“We accept that face coverings can limit the spread of the virus, but they do more to protect others rather than the wearer and that needs to be understood. Safety in stores needs customer cooperation and I am shocked that abuse of shop workers has doubled during the coronavirus emergency.”
