Nicola Sturgeon has apologised after she breached Covid rules by taking off her face mask at a funeral wake.
A photograph on the front page of the Scottish Sun showed the First Minister chatting in a bar while standing at a distance without wearing a mask.
READ MORE: Coronavirus: Mutant strain detected in Greater Glasgow and Lanarkshire areas
Customers in hospitality venues must wear a face covering except when seated and must wear one when moving around under Scottish coronavirus rules.
The First Minister was attending a funeral wake at the time the picture was captured.
She said: “Last Friday, while attending a funeral wake, I had my mask off briefly. This was a stupid mistake and I’m really sorry.
“I talk every day about the importance of masks, so I’m not going to offer any excuses.
“I was in the wrong, I’m kicking myself, and I’m sorry.”
The Scottish Sun reported that she was at the Stable Bar and Restaurant after attending a funeral at the nearby Mortonhall Crematorium.
READ MORE: Coronavirus Scotland: What are the new Covid Christmas rules in Scotland?
A Scottish Conservative spokesman said: “The First Minister should know better.
“By forgetting the rules and failing to set a proper example, she’s undermining essential public health messaging.
“It’s a blunder that an ordinary member of the public wouldn’t get away with. There cannot be one rule for Nicola Sturgeon and another for everyone else.”
Under coronavirus regulations introduced on September 14 in Scotland, face coverings for customers and staff are mandatory when entering, exiting and moving around hospitality venues.
The rules state: “There is an exemption for when customers are seated for the service of food and drink and for back of house roles such as kitchen staff or staff who are behind protective screens separating them from customers.”
Scotland's Justice Minister Humza Yousaf tweeted his support writing: "FM has approached pandemic by being upfront from v beginning. She has apologised for accidental lapse (which I suspect most of us have had one over last 9 months). I've known her for 15yrs & she is her harshest critic. I am sure most ppl will understand, accept apology & move on."
FM has approached pandemic by being upfront from v beginning. She has apologised for accidental lapse (which I suspect most of us have had one over last 9 months). I've known her for 15yrs & she is her harshest critic. I am sure most ppl will understand, accept apology & move on.
— Humza Yousaf (@HumzaYousaf) December 22, 2020
Those who breach the face covering rules can face a £60 fine.
There have been 43 deaths and 1,316 new cases of coronavirus in Scotland the past 24 hours.
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules hereLast Updated:
Report this comment Cancel