Caution is key to end of lockdown, insists Yousaf
SCOTLAND will continue to take a ‘cautious, not cavalier’ approach to easing its coronavirus restrictions, Humza Yousaf said yesterday.
The Health Secretary said the country was still in a ‘very fragile situation’, with case numbers still too high.
But he would not give forecasts for the ‘worst case’ scenario facing Scotland as UK ministers warned that there could be 100,000 cases a day across the UK by mid-August.
Speaking on The Sunday Show, Mr Yousaf said that the country had a ‘slightly lower immunity’ before the third wave of the pandemic hit.
He added: ‘From the data I’ve seen over the last week... optimistically I think we can say we are past the worst of the peak – this particular peak.
‘That doesn’t mean that there won’t be another peak in the future, but certainly we’re beginning to see a stabilisation and beginning to see the cases level off. They are still very high, I must say, but we are beginning to see a positive trend.
‘The data in the last week shows us that this is the first week in four weeks that we’ve seen cases reduce not increase, so that’s positive.’
Nicola Sturgeon will confirm tomorrow whether, and to what extent, Scotland can move to Level 0 on July 19.
But the First Minister has suggested both that, and the removal of major restrictions on August 9, could be slower than initially planned.
Mr Yousaf said it is now a ‘time to be cautious not cavalier’. He added: ‘If we open up and lift restrictions entirely then I think that could take us backwards as opposed to the very small, cautious, positive steps that we’re beginning to see in the data over the past week.’
Mr Yousaf was asked about modelling which sets out the possible worst case scenario facing Scotland.
Westminster Health Secretary Sajid Javid has said that cases in the UK could hit as many as 100,000 a day.
But Mr Yousaf refused to disclose the data for Scotland. He said: ‘We certainly wouldn’t want to tolerate that level of cases here in Scotland. We are going to take a step-by-step approach.
‘Having high case numbers, although we are not seeing the same translation into hospitalisation, still causes pressures on our NHS but also of course, there are people who will live with long Covid and there will be some impacts on them too.’
Scottish Conservative health spokesman Annie Wells said: ‘Right now, health boards are cancelling non-urgent procedures and drafting in extra staff for Covid wards.
‘That is having an impact on people’s lives as we speak. Humza Yousaf must reveal his plans to make sure our frontline NHS are supported.’
Scottish Labour health spokesman Jackie Baillie said: ‘The
‘Past the worst of the peak’ ‘Lost control of the pandemic’
SNP has lost control of the pandemic and it’s inaction, dither and delay has fanned the flames of the virus.
‘Caution is welcome, but it seems that Humza Yousaf is not keen on sharing information with the public. This lack of transparency is a hallmark of the SNP.
‘If restrictions cannot be lifted according to schedule then the responsibility for that failure lies squarely with the SNP.’
Scottish Liberal Democrat leader Willie Rennie said: ‘Humza Yousaf seems very optimistic, but there is very little to be optimistic about.
‘The NHS and other essential services right now are seeing huge numbers of key workers self-isolating, hospitals are triggering code black due to shortage of staff, not Covid cases.’
This is the week when scotland will learn whether ‘Freedom Day’ is upon us or will be delayed once more.
Nicola sturgeon will take a decision tomorrow on which restrictions can be eased and when – and which will be with us for a while longer.
From the First Minister’s statements in recent days, we can take it that scotland is unlikely to move to Level 0 on July 19 or soon thereafter. it is clear Miss sturgeon considers the situation still too risky to take a chance on opening up suddenly.
When people’s health and even their lives are on the line, caution is understandable.
Many scots will draw on their own reserves of caution in response to humza Yousaf’s pronouncement that scotland is ‘past the worst of the peak’ seen in recent weeks. That spike has brought more infections, hospitalisations and deaths and the prospect of putting it behind us will be welcomed by all.
Cautious optimism seems to be the order of the day. however, we must also be realistic about the situation on the ground.
The Delta variant has taken its toll on our fightback against the virus and on the health service itself.
Last week, three hospitals — Raigmore in inverness, Aberdeen Royal infirmary and
Dr Gray’s hospital in Elgin — were designated ‘code black’, meaning they were running at full capacity and were unable to take any more non-urgent patients.
And while the health secretary may be right that the peak has passed, there are still a worrying number of double-jabbed people being hospitalised – a reminder of just how precarious are our protections from this virus.
Nonetheless, it remains imperative that everyone who is invited to be vaccinated attends their appointment. The only way out of this pandemic is if everyone does their bit for everyone else. Personal responsibility is also social responsibility.
The responsibility of humza Yousaf is to tackle urgently the backlog in non-Covid care, which is not only forcing patients to wait for long periods, often in pain, but if left unaddressed risks overwhelming the Nhs in a way that Covid did not.
The virus must be brought under control – but other conditions cannot be allowed to fester untreated.