Scottish football clubs will revert to symptomatic testing only from next Monday onwards in line with confirmation that most remaining coronavirus restrictions will be lifted then.
All mandatory Covid-19 protocols will end from March 21, with the exception of face coverings, which First Minister Nicola Sturgeon confirmed on Monday would remain in place in specific public settings until April.
With society now learning to live with the virus, Scottish Professional Football League and Scottish Football Association’s (SFA) Joint Response Group (JRG) has urged clubs to “continue to adhere to best practice hygiene and sanitisation measures to minimise the potential for Covid-19 transmission within all club operations”.
SFA president and JRG chair Rod Petrie said: “Over the past two years the JRG has met habitually to help Scottish football stay safe amid the many manifestations of the Covid-19 virus.
“It has done so to provide guidance and evolving protocols that ensured the national game could continue to provide welcome relief from two national lockdowns and during the gradual return to normality.
“I would like to thank my JRG colleagues for their commitment to the process, to the Scottish Government and their health experts within the Elite Sports Covid Advisory Group (ESCAG) for their public health expertise and counsel, and to the clubs for adhering to the rigorous testing regime and protocols required to keep Scottish football safe and enjoyable for hundreds of thousands of fans across the country.”
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