THE First Minister and her advisors really should get out among the people of Scotland rather more often.

If they did, they might start to notice things, which would cause them to question the current mask requirements and the wisdom of the new vaccine passport app.

For a start, they would notice a gradual rise in the proportion of people who are going about maskless.

Do these people all suffer from hidden disabilities or health issues which officially exempt them from wearing masks? They might very much doubt it.

They would also notice a sizeable minority of people who wear masks improperly with the bottom of their noses peaking over the top of their masks.

As most people breathe through their noses, this defeats the purpose of masks entirely.

Significantly, this behaviour is particularly common among shop workers who deal with the public.

If they visited England, they would also notice that most people there are going about maskless without the current English COVID figures being any worse than those in Scotland.

Very likely if they got out among the people, the First Minister and her associates would conclude that it was high time to end masks and other COVID restrictions, rather than introduce a vaccine passport app and further rules.

Otto Inglis, Ansonhill, Crossgates