SCOTS will not be legally required to wear masks in certain spaces from April 18, Nicola Sturgeon has said.

On March 21, the Scottish Government removed every legal restriction linked to the pandemic except those connected to face masks.

The First Minister said her administration had now reviewed this final restriction, "taking account of the very high level of infection and the pressure on the NHS".

She said that, subject to the state of the pandemic, any requirement to wear a mask at a religious service, a wedding, funeral or civil ceremony, would lapse from Monday, April 4.

The final requirements applying to shops, public transport, and some other indoor settings will be dropped from April 18, the First Minister said.

The National:

She went on: "We will of course continue to encourage the wearing of face coverings in certain indoor places, especially where significant numbers of people are present.

"This phased approach strikes, I think, a sensible balance between our desire to remove this one legal measure, and the common-sense need for continued caution, not least for the sake of the NHS."

The move was criticised by the Scottish Tories for not going fast enough. Party leader Douglas Ross said: "This isn’t just an inconvenience, it’s really holding some people back. Retaining face masks in schools and businesses is damaging young people’s education and limiting the Scottish economy.

“This is now the third date we’ve heard that face mask use will no longer be mandated by law – yet the First Minister still wouldn’t guarantee that there will be no further extensions. We can’t go on like this."

The news follows record-breaking numbers of Scots being admitted to hospital with Covid-19.

READ MORE: FM accuses Douglas Ross of 'desperate deflection' amid Prince Philip vigil mask row

Since March 21, the nation has continued to set new records, when 2128 Scots were reported as being in hospital with the virus.

This has since continued to climb, eclipsing the previous high of 2053 – set on January 22, 2021 – by more than 300.

On March 30, it was reported that 2344 people were in hospital in Scotland with recently confirmed Covid-19. Of these, 20 were in intensive care.

The same day saw 9610 new cases of the virus reported, as well as 34 further deaths of coronavirus patients.

The Office for National Statistics reported that one in 11 people north of the Border had Covid in the week ending March 20. Sturgeon noted this was another record high and said it showed the impact of the BA2 Omicron variant.

However, the First Minister said there were “grounds for optimism that this latest wave of case numbers may have peaked”. She pointed to the average daily cases, which were around 12,000 last week and now sit at 10,200, a fall of around 15%.

Deputy First Minister and Covid Recovery John Swinney, as well as Justice Secretary Keith Brown, announced that they tested positive for the virus ahead of Sturgeon's announcement.

While the Scottish Cabinet had met as normal on Tuesday, it was confirmed that the meeting had taken place virtually on Wednesday.