A LIBERAL Democrat MSP has appealed to the Scottish Government to consider cutting the two-metre social distancing rule in half – to help businesses return to normal as the lockdown is lifted. 

The Scottish Government, along with all UK administrations, has issues social distancing rules – telling people from different households to stay two metres apart on the rare occasions they come into contact with one another. 

People should only be leaving the house for essential food and medicines, to carry out work that cannot be done at home and once a day for exercise. 

Speaking at First Minister’s Questions, Lib Dem MSP Mike Rumbles said: “As they think about gradually returning to work, many businesses will have real difficulty in maintaining the two metres social distancing requirement.

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 “Could I ask the First Minister, why it is that when the World Health Organisation recommends maintaining social distances of one metre, across the UK we've gone for two metres?  

 “Should our governments not be following the science as recommended by the World Health Organisation?” 

 Ms Sturgeon said she has no intention of changing the rules. 

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She said: “The advice that has been given to me and I think it's the same across the UK is two metres.  

“Mike Rumbles is right in the sense that some countries I think are one and a half metres, some countries are one metre, there are other countries as I understand that are two metres like us.  

 “In all of this, I have wanted to be as precautionary as possible and I think that is the right approach and there is no intention on my part right now to ease that two metres or to adjust that in any way, but we continue to take advice and look at all of these things on an ongoing basis.”