At last, we are being allowed out into the light at the end of the tunnel. But only for a few cautious steps in the sunlight. We can drive up to 5 miles to meet people from one other household (in a group of less than 8) but we must meet in the open air and at two metres distant.
And we can play golf and tennis and buy plants at garden centres and, from Monday, take our rubbish to re-cycling depots.
These new freedoms are, according to First Minister, Nicola Sturgeon, the reward for good behaviour over the last nine weeks of strict lockdown. None of us drove 260 miles to seek childcare while suspecting we had coronavirus. This is why the virus is in retreat. The death rate has fallen for the last four weeks and now stands at a total of 3,779 with 19,000 confirmed cases.
Support for the stricter measures in Scotland, compared to England, has been consistently high. An opinion poll carried out for the BBC last week found that 77 per cent of Scots thought easing the lockdown too quickly was a bigger risk than easing it too slowly. 82 per cent said Ms Sturgeon was handling the crisis well, compared to only 30 per cent who thought the UK government was doing a good job.
There are however a couple of nagging questions which, no doubt, will be part of the inevitable inquiry, years down the line and at great expense. Did we go into lockdown a fortnight too late? Why was there such a shortage of PPE, personal protective equipment ? Was it right or wrong to discharge elderly patients from hospital into nursing homes without them being tested for Covid-19 ? And was the outbreak at the Nike Conference in Edinburgh at the end of February – the so called “case-zero” – properly followed up by the tracing system?
On all of these questions, raised in parliament and the press, Ms Sturgeon has admitted mistakes may have been made, but that is with the benefit of hindsight. Everyone – tracers, scientists, politicians – were doing their best at the time.
The tracing question is perhaps the most pertinent now because we have entered the next stage of the battle – “Test and Protect” or hunting the virus down in a series of mini-outbreaks. It will be crucial to see if people will voluntarily register for a test if they experience any the three main symptoms (cough, fever, loss of taste or smell). Will they reveal their close contacts ? Will those contacts go into complete isolation for 14 days? It’s all quite a big ask. But hopefully it will not involve a lot of people. After all, only one in 400 of us has the virus. We may not need all of the 700 tracers currently standing by. But looming over all is the reinfection rate and the death toll figure. If they increase, Ms Sturgeon has made it plain we are back in lockdown, whatever the economic cost may be.
The Scottish Finance Minister Kate Forbes is handing out a total of £4bn in extra support for Scottish businesses – largely from Scotland’s share of the UK-wide Covid-19 funding. But there have been calls for more this week, particularly from tourism and arts businesses and transport firms. Buses and trains will only be able to accommodate a quarter of their usual passengers because of the two metre distance rule.
And speaking of rules, Dominic Cummings’ breach of the rules has been particularly painful for the Scottish Conservative leader Jackson Carlaw. On Monday he found himself having to back the Prime inister’s decision to keep Cummings in his job as special advisor. But by Tuesday he had to change his mind and call on Cummings to “consider his position” after a revolt by his own MSPs who are outraged at Cummings’ behaviour. The affair also prompted the junior Scottish Office minister Douglas Ross to resign saying: “Mr Cummings’ interpretation of the government’s advice was not shared by the majority of people who have done as the government asked.”
We have three new chapters for you! Enjoy!https://t.co/afFEfRQQ5C
— J.K. Rowling (@jk_rowling) May 28, 2020
Has anyone been reading JK Rowlings’ latest book? Like all children’s books “The Ickabog” is a story for adults as well. So who could she have in mind when she introduces the king of the tiny kingdom of Cornucopia: “ Fred the Fearless came to the throne on a huge wave of popularity. He had lovely yellow curls…….Fred’s advisor took care of all the little problems that arose. All that was left for Fred to do was beam at all his subjects.”
Where it will all end, we will have to wait till 10 July 2020 when the last chapter is released on the internet. Each chapter appears daily. It’s free and is to entertain children during the Covid-19 crisis. JK Rowling says all proceeds from the sale of the book in November – with children’s own illustrations – will go to charities helping people through the coronavirus crisis.
“The Ickabog” is just one of the initiatives that will define the Covid-19 lockdown. The sound of the Thursday evening applause for NHS and care workers, now faded from our streets, is another, along with food parcels, mask making and video meetings.
I know we are only emerging slowly, and blinking, into the sunlight. But at least we have reached the end of this first tunnel. Unfortunately there are more tunnels to be braved before we reach the end of this unwelcome journey.
