We are not out of the Covid red zone just yet
IWONDER how many of us in future will hold the memories or moments of where we were and what we were doing when monumental news headlines of this pandemic hit us.
I’m sure you can recall exactly what you were doing when the first news of lockdown 1.0 was announced. I have several “locked in” memories that stir up very mixed emotions when I reflect on them.
Earlier this week the First Minister announced that some restrictions would ease up sooner than what had been planned for and it took me by surprise in more ways than one.
I was in between clinics when I tuned into the briefing. I was not expecting this announcement and as I listened, my eyes welled up and my heart started racing – was it excitement or was it fear? I couldn’t make up my mind – maybe it was a bit of both?
I, like millions of other people, have found this year very tough at times. We have all dealt with grief and loss in different ways but for me, keeping busy has been my most effective defence mechanism, preventing me from dwelling in thoughts that evoke anxiety. I too have become accustomed to the routines of everyday where people are kept at a distance and largely behind screens.
Even though I have a very public facing job, anyone coming too close now makes me uncomfortable and nervous (as it should). To hear the news that, from today, we are allowed to travel again and can actually leave our council areas to meet up with 6 other adults from 6 different households felt like Christmas had come early but that excitement quickly fizzled into worry.
Covid is very much still a huge threat and it is still not under control. Whilst we have reduced the number of daily cases, hospital admissions and deaths, this has come about due to lockdown and strict restrictions whilst we have rolled out vaccines to the high risk groups.
We truly need to celebrate the success of the vaccination roll out so far. In such a short space of time, we have achieved what other countries have yet to even begin and the
It might seem like it doesn’t matter anymore but we have to be careful
roadmap ahead is being followed at incredible speed.
The schools are back open and now we are starting to gradually open up the rest of our workforce with the hope to resume some form of normality. This is all very positive. However my worry, as a doctor, is that we are not out of the red zone yet.
The real test now will be of what happens next as we start to mingle again.
There will be an inevitable rise in cases as there would be with any infection, only Covid has the ability to repeatedly shut us down until we completely take control.
This, however, will require multiple approaches. The vaccine offers us excellent protection, reducing our risk of serious illness but we do not yet understand its effects on transmissibility. So as much as we cannot wait to meet our friends and families again, we need to still act as though we may be carriers and that we pass it on protect.
The weather is to be nice this weekend and as we approach the summer months, we will naturally be spending more time outdoors which is better for us and terrible for the virus which wants to be indoors. By all means meet up with people, we are all lacking in human connection, but remember whatever you do, still keep the distance. It might seem like it does not matter anymore, but simple things like regular handwashing and sanitising and wearing face coverings when in crowded indoor facilities, will continue to make huge impacts. These measures will complement the vaccine roll out and hopefully we will keep the numbers down.
If you develop any symptoms at all which prompt you to question whether you have Covid, have a low threshold to get tested. We need to err on the side of caution because one positive case mingling with others has the potential to spark spread. Let us not give this virus any more opportunities than it has had already.
I wish you a lovely weekend and time ahead as you reconnect with those or what matters to you most.
Remember to take things at your own pace. could still potentially to those we want to