Play your part to beat COVID-19
With the school summer holidays now in full swing, and the parliamentary recess having started, we would normally be entering the season of agricultural shows, village galas and Highland games.
Sadly, for the second year in a row, none of these events which are such an important part of the local economy and society are taking place.
We can hope, with a reasonable degree of confidence, that this will be the last summer we are missing such activities.
COVID has cast a very long shadow over all of us for too long, but we finally seem to be making progress against this deadly virus.
We have seen, just in the last two weeks, a very dramatic rise in the numbers of cases being reported across Scotland. These are mostly now affecting the younger generation, particularly males under 40.
It does not require a genius to work out that many of these cases are connected with people gathering to watch football games as part of the Euro Championships, particularly the ScotlandEngland match at Wembley.
I am sure we all know of people who made the trip to London, and who came back and then tested positive for COVID. It is unfortunate that the messages from the Scottish Government were not clearer in advance about the risks of travelling, and the need for social distancing, and today we are living with the consequences.
What has been encouraging so far is that the high levels of COVID cases we have seen do not seem to have translated into increased numbers of hospitalisations, or deaths.
This suggests that the vaccine programme is doing its work, and once again demonstrates the value of decisions taken by the UK Government last year to invest in vaccines, meaning that we now lead Europe in terms of protecting our population.
Even with that, people are still getting ill, and the knock-on effect to the economy is substantial, with families having to selfisolate, and employers finding that their staff cannot attend for work. This is a particular problem in the vital hospitality industry locally, expecting a busy summer with visitors, but struggling to find staff, and having to cope with regular absences.
Whilst it may look like we are now on a clear route back to some degree of normality by the end of the summer, we are not out of the woods yet. It is important that people continue to listen to the health advice, to wear face masks where required, and to observe social distancing. If we all act responsibly, then we will all reap the benefits sooner rather than later.
• Murdo Fraser always welcomes feedback from constituents. He can be contacted at The Control Tower, Perth Airport, Scone, PH2 6PL, by email on murdo. fraser.msp@parliament.scot or by telephone on 01738 553990.