The importance of kindness

We can all sense we’re at yet another key moment in the Covid pandemic.

How do we balance the need to be vigilant and to test and self-isolate when required, with the move beyond Level 0 and the opening up of our lives and the economy?

Businesses are operating under enormous pressure to ensure staff and customer safety and often have to operate with reduced numbers of staff at very short notice.

Staff shortages

Some hospitality businesses have had no option but to shut their doors temporarily because of staff shortages, while others have stayed open but temporarily without the level of staffing they would like.

The rules have now relaxed and even if someone in your household has Covid, you no longer need to self-isolate AFTER you get a negative PCR result, provided you are DOUBLE-vaccinated. But you do still need to self-isolate while you book a PCR test and wait for the result.

We may have to do this more than once and it can have a big impact on our working lives.

Pressures

It’s incredibly hard to plan ahead at the moment - even for something as simple as a hair appointment or meeting a friend - so please remember

the pressures businesses are under right now. Businesses are doing their best in circumstances that are nigh-on impossible to plan for and very difficult to manage. Other popular visitor areas including the Lake District and Cornwall have launched ‘Be Kind’ campaigns to encourage visitors to be kind to under-pressure staff.

It’s a delicate time and we’re all feeling the pressure. It’s at times like these we need to be kind to each other, have a bit of patience with the situation and do our best to support our businesses and community with kindness.

If you’re unsure of what the current rules are, or what they mean for business, please visit www.lochaberchamber.co.uk where you’ll find up-to-date guidance on the latest rules, funding and assistance for business.