FORGIVE me a short, last-minute prologue, but as I was about to submit this column reports started breaking of an incident in Glasgow city centre. Details are sparse as I’m writing this, but my thoughts are with everyone affected and their families. Stay safe.
This week the First Minister confirmed that we are loosening lockdown restrictions further. From July 3 the five-mile rule will be relaxed and people will be able to take holidays to self-catering accommodation. This is great news, and there’s further loosening of restrictions coming, throughout July including – finally – hairdressers re-opening.
Though it should be stressed that all of these dates are provisional and may not occur if we don’t continue to suppress the virus, it is so nice to have real hope that we will be able to spend time together once again soon, and that we’ll be spending that time safely.
It’s that bit of hope that made scenes on beaches in England so horrifying.
There were hundreds of people packed into a beach in Brighton this week as England eased their lockdown a couple of weeks ahead of us.
READ MORE: Nicola Sturgeon issues virus warning after Bournemouth incident
In normal times, pictures of people enjoying the sun on a beach are a happy thing. It means the weather has been good, and we’ve finally had a bit of our annual sunshine allowance in the dreich lands of Scotland and the UK.
But this time, when I looked at those photos, all I could see was the hope and excitement for lockdown easing dissipating before my eyes. It happened a few weeks ago when people were allowed to meet up outdoors for the first in months – people bent the rules and had a wild one.
If large groups of people do this every time the sun breaks through the clouds, we’re going to very quickly be back where we were just before lockdown, reporting hundreds of new cases and new deaths every day.
Lockdown is hard. Even with the easing it is still hard. The beautiful weather often feels like a kick in the teeth, but that does not give anyone license to toss it all out the window and do as they please.
The virus still exists, it’s still being transmitted, and we can’t pretend it isn’t.
Just look at America. Donald Trump cared more about getting the economy going than the American people’s health, and now they once again have the number of cases they did when they first locked down.
The EU is banning travel from America. That’s because they unlocked too quickly and decided overnight that the virus no longer exists.
As much as we may want to, we can’t will the virus out of existence.
We should all be very clear that if we re-open too soon and the virus gets out of control again, the economic impact of shutting down a second time will be far worse than the impact of easing out slowly.
We have to be imaginative in finding the safe path back to normality.
One of the first steps is discussing these plans in good faith whilst appreciating that, to an extent, the world is building the plane whilst flying it when it comes to policy and this pandemic.
There was a lot of debate around the blended learning (where children attend school two days a week, and learn from home outside those times) approach for children when they return to school in August, with the Tories up in arms that the Scottish Government were being cautious in their approach.
Ironically, this is something the Scottish Tories actually called for in the official policy document they released.
Schools have been asked to prepare for blended learning if that is what the state of virus and community transmission demands.
Nobody expects blended learning to stay in place a minute longer than necessary.
READ MORE: Tories are fuming about the Scottish Government's school announcement
Parents, teachers, children and, indeed, politicians want kids in school getting the education they need and deserve. Given that the virus continues to be suppressed by social distancing, it has become clear that blended learning may not be necessary at all.
Everybody, bar a few selfish folk, has made a huge, concerted effort to suppress this virus so that we can get our lives back to normal as soon as possible.
Throwing it away now would be completely reckless and is totally unnecessary. Stay safe, save lives.
Why are you making commenting on The National only available to subscribers?
We know there are thousands of National readers who want to debate, argue and go back and forth in the comments section of our stories. We’ve got the most informed readers in Scotland, asking each other the big questions about the future of our country.
Unfortunately, though, these important debates are being spoiled by a vocal minority of trolls who aren’t really interested in the issues, try to derail the conversations, register under fake names, and post vile abuse.
So that’s why we’ve decided to make the ability to comment only available to our paying subscribers. That way, all the trolls who post abuse on our website will have to pay if they want to join the debate – and risk a permanent ban from the account that they subscribe with.
The conversation will go back to what it should be about – people who care passionately about the issues, but disagree constructively on what we should do about them. Let’s get that debate started!
Callum Baird, Editor of The National
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules hereLast Updated:
Report this comment Cancel