I TRUST that Jamie Black (Letters, July 11) will find it possible to remove the wearing of face coverings from his long list of grievances against the Scottish Government now that the Centre for Truth and Responsibility in Downing Street has admitted it should have done the same as Holyrood. Presumably he considers the current non-instruction from the UK Government, obviously after detailed scrutiny by MPs, is preferable to the clear, unambiguous statement issued in Scotland.

The irresponsibility displayed by self-appointed guardians of civil liberties in this matter is truly breathtaking. Whether there is “clear” or “some” evidence that the wearing of face coverings reduces the spread of this disease, the simple act of donning a mask demonstrates, with miniscule effort, respect for fellow shoppers and a desire to do the right thing.

Those who are already prone to anti-social behaviour, such as the ones described by Mark Boyle (Letters, July 11) need no encouragement from Herald readers, who should know better.

Cameron Crawford, Rothesay.

JAMIE Black claims that people are being forced to wear face coverings against their will when shopping. I was in Stirling town centre on Friday, the day wearing face coverings in shops became mandatory, and I was pleased to see that almost everyone was wearing a mask or scarf, and indeed many people had put a bit of thought into their choice of covering, using brightly patterned masks to keep themselves and others safe. I certainly did not observe anyone looking indignant or upset because they had "been forced" to wear a face covering. Most of us understand the reasons why we should.

During this unprecedented crisis, public health and safety must come first and medical and scientific officers are learning more about coronavirus all the time, so if the science advises that covering our faces will help to suppress Covid-19 we owe it to ourselves and others to do everything we possibly can to keep us all safe; and we especially owe it to the amazing NHS and care workers who put their own health and lives on the line as they battle this virus.

For those of us fortunate enough to have so far escaped this dangerous, deadly illness, surely wearing a face covering for a few minutes in a shop is not such a terrible hardship, and if it means that there will be fewer cases of coronavirus in Scotland, that is a reason for us to smile behind our masks.

Ruth Marr, Stirling.

I WONDER if someone could help me understand whether the heat generated whilst wearing a face mask is caused by the constriction of the mask or the blind fury at the Government for making me wear that particular item.

If they are necessary, why wait more than three months? This is almost as incompetent as its dreadful education policy.

Michael Watson, Glasgow G73.

SO much for Nicola Sturgeon's oft-repeated desire to keep politics out of the coronavirus epidemic. We are constantly being assailed by her picture wearing an obviously custom-made mask. Instead of picking a neutral nondescript pattern, she has gone for a tartan one. This cannot being anything other than deliberate. Will she be wearing a tartan cape next and calling herself a super-heroine attempting to "save Scotland?" She will really need "super powers" to tackle that gargantuan task.

Dr Gerald Edwards, Glasgow G77.

DR John Crawford (Letters, July 11) has misunderstood the problem with singing in churches. It is true as he says that in droplet mode the virus is not projected far. The problem is that when singing or shouting certain people change their method of projection from droplet form to the far more dangerous aerosol form (without knowing it). Of course it is only really dangerous when this happens indoors, leading to infamous events like the large religious gathering in South Korea in April that led to a major lockdown with track and trace in a major city in a country that had the virus well under control up till then. There are several papers about this phenomenon, and this was what caused the World Health Organisation to change its advice.

Back in May, there was an outbreak on one of the islands in the southern archipelago off Gothenburg. The starting point is believed to be a choir gathering of 15 people from three churches on 24 May. A few days later one of the choir members fell ill, and later more than half tested positive for Covid-19. Nearly 100 people on the island, about a quarter of the population, now had symptoms at one stage.

Professor Peter Gray, Aberdeen AB15.

BEFORE lockdown pensioners, many of them living alone, could enjoy attending a tea dance. There they could socialise, exercise and make new friends. Is the time now opportune to reinstate them as masked balls?

Iain MacInnes, Glasgow G41.

Read more: Letters: Our parliamentarians have let us down over imposition of face coverings