Nation’s challenge to exit lockdown safely

The long and winding road out of lockdown will soon begin for Scotland. A new document extending to 46-pages and presented to the Scottish Parliament by the first minister yesterday will now serve as this country’s roadmap to an entirely different type of freedom than Nicola Sturgeon has spent a lifetime campaigning for.

It attempts to answer many of the fundamental questions that have been on the tip of tongues for weeks now such as how we can start to meet family and friends again, how the economy will be restarted, how our children will be educated and how a return to regular competitive sport might be feasible.

But while the document provides insight into the government’s thinking, there is no pretence that it is a definitive guide to exactly how Scotland will emerge from this challenging period.

There are, quite deliberately, no timescales contained within it and there can also be no guarantees that the path indicated will be followed without deviation.

And that is because there is no way of knowing whether coronavirus will seize the upper hand once again when more people are circulating in the community more regularly.

Thankfully, for now, Covid-19 is a virus that is in retreat. But it is still killing people and making others extremely sick and any easing of the lockdown restrictions increases the risks of a viral resurgence.

The document, Scotland’s route map through and out of the crisis, acknowledges that reality and is explicit in stating that where the situation requires it, the brakes may be put back on and restrictions reimposed.

But it is a sign in itself of positive progress that a roadmap now exists.

No document can cover every eventuality and there will be situations in which the official guidance does not work.

In practicality, there will be trial and error, stress levels will be high and frustrations may boil over.

But lockdown has been a collective national endeavour for the common good and, by sticking together, it has done its job of saving lives.

That same solidarity will also be vital as Scotland faces this new challenge of exiting lockdown safely.