Mixed Messages and Covid-19
Just the other day the Scottish Government announced its intention to 'align closely' with the rest of the UK over tougher measures to stop the spread of Covid-19.
But soon afterwards the Scottish Government was 'spinning' the message that Nicola Sturgeon would go just that little bit further, in another case of the Covid-19 one-upmanship our politicians seem unable to resist.
See the links below to contrasting reports in the Glasgow Times and The Times.
Nicola Sturgeon says Scotland will 'align closely' with Boris Johnson's three tier lockdown system
By Stewart Paterson - Glasgow Times
Nicola Sturgeon says Scotland will 'align closely' with Boris Johnson's three tier lockdown system
Boris Johnson has announced a three-tier lockdown system for England which Nicola Sturgeon said Scotland would be closely aligned with.
The Prime Minister said the system of Medium, High and Very High would determine what interventions were needed in certain areas to avoid a full-scale national lockdown again.
Medium is the current national restrictions which cover most of England with the rule of six on gatherings indoors
High includes the rule of six outdoors as well.
Nicola Sturgeon says Scotland will 'align closely' with Boris Johnson's three tier lockdown system
Boris Johnson has announced a three-tier lockdown system for England which Nicola Sturgeon said Scotland would be closely aligned with.
The Prime Minister said the system of Medium, High and Very High would determine what interventions were needed in certain areas to avoid a full-scale national lockdown again.
Medium is the current national restrictions which cover most of England with the rule of six on gatherings indoors
High includes the rule of six outdoors as well.
https://www.thetimes.co.uk/edition/scotland/coronavirus-in-scotland-sturgeon-draws-up-plan-for-tougher-lockdowns-xpzhc9zr3
The Scottish Government seems likely to follow the lead of the UK Government later today by announcing further restrictions on people's lives to help reduce the spread of Covid-19.
According to leaked press reports Scotland will reduce the numbers of people who can meet to just 6 individuals - both indoors and outdoors.
The present 'rules' are driven by the science allegedly, there is no doubt that politicians revel in having small differences in their own back yards - at a time when it would be better if we were all singing from the same hymn sheet.
Glasgow councillors were back in the news again after the Daily Record broke a story about Council leader, Cllr Susan Aitken, enjoying a drink in a Merchant City pub with three colleagues.
The term 'narcissism of small differences' was coined by Sigmund Freud to describe groups of people who share common aims or goals, but who also disparage and argue with each other over relatively minor differences.
Sounds an awful lot like what has been happening during the Coronavirus epidemic if you ask me, with the three devolved governments of the UK desperate to distinguish themselves from Westminster - sometimes for valid reasons, to be fair, but on other occasions it's just low politics.
The same thing happens in political parties of course - Jeremy Corbyn's Labour was anathema to many fellow party members, just as the SNP has two tribes warring with each other over how best to pursue independence and Indyref2.
The very latest Coronavirus row is about whether travellers coming into the UK or returning to the UK should be required to quarantine for 14 days.
Similar disagreements have emerged in recent weeks over when and how to open up outdoor hospitality spaces, but the general direction of travel has remained the same, unsurprisingly.
Because these problems affect countries and governments right across Europe and to a greater or lesser extent they are all watching and learning from each other, albeit sometimes as rivals and competitors - rather than good neighbours.
I listened to the lockdown easing measures announced by the Prime Minister, Boris Johnson yesterday - they all seemed pretty sensible to me, not least because the same thing is happening right across Europe.
No doubt some people will use this as an opportunity to wave flags or score party political points, despite the fact that our neighbours in Italy, France, Germany, Belgium, Spain and Portugal all face the same dilemma.
Labour leader Keir Starmer hit the right note for me by welcoming steps to relax the rules while emphasising that we all must remain on our guard by continuing to observe social distancing, by wearing face masks in public and by regular hand washing.
Coronavirus: Lockdown to be relaxed in England as 2m rule eased
Image copyright - PA MEDIA
Pubs, restaurants, hotels and hairdressers can open from 4 July in England, when social distancing rules will be eased.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson said people should remain 2m apart where possible but a "one metre plus" rule will be introduced.
Two households in England will also be able to meet indoors and stay overnight - with social distancing.
The prime minister warned that all the steps were "reversible".
Scotland's First Minister Nicola Sturgeon and Wales' First Minister Mark Drakeford have both said the 2m rule will remain in place in their nations for the moment.
Indoor gyms, swimming pools, nail bars and indoor play areas are among the list of businesses that will remain closed, as they have been since lockdown started on 23 March.
Media caption - Boris Johnson is cheered as he announces English pubs can reopen from 4 July
The prime minister said: "Our principle is to trust the British public to use their common sense in the full knowledge of the risks, remembering the more we open up, the more vigilant we need to be."
The venues listed as being able to reopen include:
Restrictions have to lift at some point. The big question is whether the UK is moving too soon.
The number of infections has fallen dramatically.
There are now just over 1,000 new cases a day on average.
That compares with an estimated 100,000 at the peak at the end of March - we don't know the exact figure because there was limited testing in place.
Huge progress has, therefore, been made.
But the number of infections is still significantly higher than other countries.
France and Germany are seeing fewer than half the number of infections that the UK is (and Germany has a larger population), while Italy has fewer than a quarter.
It is why there are plenty of experts, including former government chief scientific adviser Sir David King, voicing concern that restrictions are easing too quickly.
But, of course, not lifting them comes at a cost too - to the economy, to people's health and wellbeing and to wider society.
At the end of the day it is a finely balanced judgement call.
We will only know whether it was the right one or not in the weeks and months to come.
The changes to social-distancing guidance come after appeals from the hospitality industry and Conservative MPs.
Current evidence suggests being 1m apart carries between two and 10 times the risk of being 2m apart, scientists advising the government say.
According to UK Hospitality 2m distancing would see, on average, venues trading at 30% capacity, whereas 1m would put it up to 70%.
Coronavirus in Scotland: Sturgeon draws up plan for tougher lockdowns
Shoppers in Broughty Ferry, Dundee, and across the central belt are being urged to help break “the chains of transmission” - Photo ANDREW MILLIGAN/PA
By Mark McLaughlin, Chris Smyth and Francis Elliott - The Times.
Nicola Sturgeon is preparing to “toughen up” the UK government’s three-tier coronavirus controls or introduce another higher level amid fears from Boris Johnson’s scientific advisers that the measures will not go far enough to suppress the virus.
Scotland’s coronavirus hotspots — mostly in the central belt — already face stringent restrictions with pubs and restaurants closed for a fortnight, but last night the first minister admitted she may have to go even further to curb infection rates.
Politicians and Coronavirus (19/09/20)
The essential point about Covid-19 is that if we all take social distancing seriously, remain cautious, wear face masks and wash our hands at every opportunity - the virus cannot jump from one person to another.
Yet politicians across the UK are now rushing to tell us that because they have failed to persuade fellow citizens to behave responsibly they have no choice but to impose even more rules which prevent people from seeing their families and friends.
Everyone from Boris Johnson to the Mayor of London to the first ministers of Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland will be saying essentially the same thing, no doubt while also suggesting that something or someone else is to blame.
Yet what it boils down to is a failure of our politicians to unite behind an agreed strategy which is capable of changing people's behaviour.
Follow My Leader ((10/09/90)
The Scottish Government seems likely to follow the lead of the UK Government later today by announcing further restrictions on people's lives to help reduce the spread of Covid-19.
According to leaked press reports Scotland will reduce the numbers of people who can meet to just 6 individuals - both indoors and outdoors.
The present 'rules' are driven by the science allegedly, there is no doubt that politicians revel in having small differences in their own back yards - at a time when it would be better if we were all singing from the same hymn sheet.
Politicians and Coronavirus (09/09/20)
Glasgow councillors were back in the news again after the Daily Record broke a story about Council leader, Cllr Susan Aitken, enjoying a drink in a Merchant City pub with three colleagues.
Nicola Sturgeon waded into the row at the weekend to remind public figures, especially elected politicians, that they need to be seen to be above reproach.
Yet the First Minister's words fell well short of the criticism directed at Aberdeen and Celtic footballers recently when the Scottish Government threatened to shut the game down altogether, if players stepped out of line again.
I can't say I'm in favour of shutting things down as it seems to me the job of politicians is to hammer home the message about the importance of remaining cautious and continuing to socially distancing - while wearing face masks and washing your hands frequently.
I was in Spain over the summer, Catalonia to be precise, and my personal experience is that these issues are taken far more seriously in other parts of Europe than they are in Scotland.
Spain currently has a higher Covid-19 infection rate than Scotland or the UK, but the Spanish Prime Minister, Pedro Sanchez has already said that life must go on and that there will no return to a full lockdown.
Face coverings are mandatory in all public spaces in Spain and just recently Spain banned smoking and vaping in outdoor hospitality spaces in an effort to combat the spread of Coronavirus.
Whereas my experience in Glasgow is that the wearing of face masks or using hand sanitisers in shops is very patchy and not enforced - with lots of people wearing face coverings hanging round their chins, for example.
The reality is that if people take social distancing seriously, remain cautious, wear face masks and wash their hands at every opportunity - the virus cannot jump from one person to another.
Narcissism of Small Differences (05/07/20)
The term 'narcissism of small differences' was coined by Sigmund Freud to describe groups of people who share common aims or goals, but who also disparage and argue with each other over relatively minor differences.
Sounds an awful lot like what has been happening during the Coronavirus epidemic if you ask me, with the three devolved governments of the UK desperate to distinguish themselves from Westminster - sometimes for valid reasons, to be fair, but on other occasions it's just low politics.
The same thing happens in political parties of course - Jeremy Corbyn's Labour was anathema to many fellow party members, just as the SNP has two tribes warring with each other over how best to pursue independence and Indyref2.
The very latest Coronavirus row is about whether travellers coming into the UK or returning to the UK should be required to quarantine for 14 days.
Similar disagreements have emerged in recent weeks over when and how to open up outdoor hospitality spaces, but the general direction of travel has remained the same, unsurprisingly.
Because these problems affect countries and governments right across Europe and to a greater or lesser extent they are all watching and learning from each other, albeit sometimes as rivals and competitors - rather than good neighbours.
Lockdown Begins To Ease (24/06/20)
I listened to the lockdown easing measures announced by the Prime Minister, Boris Johnson yesterday - they all seemed pretty sensible to me, not least because the same thing is happening right across Europe.
No doubt some people will use this as an opportunity to wave flags or score party political points, despite the fact that our neighbours in Italy, France, Germany, Belgium, Spain and Portugal all face the same dilemma.
Labour leader Keir Starmer hit the right note for me by welcoming steps to relax the rules while emphasising that we all must remain on our guard by continuing to observe social distancing, by wearing face masks in public and by regular hand washing.
Image copyright - PA MEDIAPubs, restaurants, hotels and hairdressers can open from 4 July in England, when social distancing rules will be eased.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson said people should remain 2m apart where possible but a "one metre plus" rule will be introduced.
Two households in England will also be able to meet indoors and stay overnight - with social distancing.
The prime minister warned that all the steps were "reversible".
Scotland's First Minister Nicola Sturgeon and Wales' First Minister Mark Drakeford have both said the 2m rule will remain in place in their nations for the moment.
Indoor gyms, swimming pools, nail bars and indoor play areas are among the list of businesses that will remain closed, as they have been since lockdown started on 23 March.
The meeting of households will not be exclusive but, unlike the bubble system, people will have to maintain social distance - so family members who live apart will not be able to hug.
Mr Johnson said people would be encouraged to use "mitigation" - such as face coverings and not sitting face-to-face - when within 2m of each other and "where it is possible to keep 2m apart, people should".
Mr Johnson said people would be encouraged to use "mitigation" - such as face coverings and not sitting face-to-face - when within 2m of each other and "where it is possible to keep 2m apart, people should".
Media caption - Boris Johnson is cheered as he announces English pubs can reopen from 4 July
The prime minister said: "Our principle is to trust the British public to use their common sense in the full knowledge of the risks, remembering the more we open up, the more vigilant we need to be."
The venues listed as being able to reopen include:
- Pubs, bars and restaurants but only with a table service indoors, and owners will be asked to keep contact details of customers to help with contact tracing
- Hotels, holiday apartments, campsites and caravan parks but shared facilities must be cleaned properly
- Theatres and music halls but they will not be allowed to hold live performances
- In other changes weddings will be allowed to have 30 attendees, and places of worship will be allowed to hold services but singing will be banned
- Hair salons and barbers will be able to reopen but must put protective measures, such as visors, in place
- Libraries, community centres and bingo halls
- Cinemas, museums and galleries
- Funfairs, theme parks, adventure parks, amusement arcades, skating rinks and model villages
- Indoor attractions where animals are exhibited, such as at zoos, aquariums, farms, safari parks and wildlife centres
What cannot open from 4 July?
The following places will remain closed by law:
The following places will remain closed by law:
- Nightclubs and casinos
- Bowling alleys and indoor skating rinks
- Indoor play areas including soft-play
- Spas
- Nail bars and beauty salons
- Massage, tattoo and piercing parlours
- Indoor fitness and dance studios, and indoor gyms and sports venues/facilities
- Swimming pools and water parks
- Exhibition or conference centres - other than for those who work for that venue.
Mr Johnson said that the announcement meant "our long national hibernation is beginning to come to an end".
Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer said he welcomed the statement overall, adding " I believe the government is trying to do the right thing and in that I support them".
He added he thought it was "safe for some children to return to school" and he urged clarity over getting all children back to school safely.
Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer said he welcomed the statement overall, adding " I believe the government is trying to do the right thing and in that I support them".
He added he thought it was "safe for some children to return to school" and he urged clarity over getting all children back to school safely.
Restrictions have to lift at some point. The big question is whether the UK is moving too soon.
The number of infections has fallen dramatically.
There are now just over 1,000 new cases a day on average.
That compares with an estimated 100,000 at the peak at the end of March - we don't know the exact figure because there was limited testing in place.
Huge progress has, therefore, been made.
But the number of infections is still significantly higher than other countries.
France and Germany are seeing fewer than half the number of infections that the UK is (and Germany has a larger population), while Italy has fewer than a quarter.
It is why there are plenty of experts, including former government chief scientific adviser Sir David King, voicing concern that restrictions are easing too quickly.
But, of course, not lifting them comes at a cost too - to the economy, to people's health and wellbeing and to wider society.
At the end of the day it is a finely balanced judgement call.
We will only know whether it was the right one or not in the weeks and months to come.
The changes to social-distancing guidance come after appeals from the hospitality industry and Conservative MPs.
Current evidence suggests being 1m apart carries between two and 10 times the risk of being 2m apart, scientists advising the government say.
According to UK Hospitality 2m distancing would see, on average, venues trading at 30% capacity, whereas 1m would put it up to 70%.
