No break for MSPs due to virus fight
Last week marked what should have been the end of the summer recess at the Scottish Parliament and the start of the final session before the 2021 election.
In fact parliament reconvened its regular meetings five weeks ago, and also met on numerous occasions before that during the summer.
That is a long way of saying that there has been no effective summer recess and no interruption for many of us from the very exacting demands of dealing with coronavirus.
Normally I would be returning to parliament after a summer recess crammed full of attending gala days, Highland games, agricultural shows and conducting a range of mobile surgeries in all of the smaller villages and remote settlements around my extensive Perthshire North constituency.
This year coronavirus has put paid to all of that.
The great community spirit of gala days and community events has been replaced by the community solidarity of supporting individuals affected by coronavirus. In 23 years of representing local people in parliament I had undertaken no video conference constituency appointments up until March of this year and they are now the norm. So there is much change in how we live our lives.
We have been reminded of the acute threat that coronavirus poses to us all by the events that led to the closure of the 2 Sisters poultry plant at Coupar Angus.
The outbreak has been extensive with testing put in place for employees at the plant and a requirement for all households associated with the plant to self-isolate.
The contacts of everyone involved have been traced to take the maximum steps possible to contain the virus.
I have been hugely encouraged by the effective action of the Incident Management Team - led by public health experts - and including NHS Tayside, Perth and Kinross Council and other local authorities, Police Scotland and many other organisations. They have acted swiftly and effectively to contain the outbreak and it looks as if they have managed to avoid the spread of the virus into the wider community. I hope that these efforts will continue to be effective and give maximum protection to the local community. I am very grateful to everyone locally who has clearly exercised great caution in the period of this incident.
There have been other isolated incidents of the virus and again the contact tracing system has worked effectively to track down those affected and to try to contain the virus. The restrictions that have had to be applied in the west of Scotland though is a timely reminder that we all need to follow the guidance and ensure that we do all we can to keep the virus at bay.
On a happier note, I was delighted that our schools were able to return. This is now the start of the fifth week back and although there have been some instances of the presence of coronavirus cases, these have been a very, very small number.
I am again grateful to staff, pupils and parents for the huge commitment and volume of work that has been undertaken to make this all possible.
The clinical advice indicates that young people are at very great risk of harm due to the absence of formal education and I am very keen to ensure we sustain the vital role of our schools in the community.