Sturgeon has a duty to justify Covid curbs

THE Omicron clampdown saw the reintroduction of a raft of restrictions which are now putting unbearable pressure on struggling businesses.

Today, Nicola Sturgeon will reveal whether they’re to be continued, and there are ominous signs they will remain in place.

National clinical director Jason Leitch believes the ‘protections’ the SNP Government has imposed are helping to ‘reduce the size of the [Omicron] wave’.

But the latest report on the state of the pandemic reveals that average daily cases in Scotland were higher than the number in England in the week to January 6.

South of the Border, ministers have so far resisted calls to impose the kind of measures we’ve seen here – from the informal limit on household mixing to nightclub closures.

In this context, it is hard to see how the continuation of the restrictions can be justified – and businesses are right to highlight the enormous damage they’ve done. Miss Sturgeon must show us the evidence for retaining them, if that’s what she plans to do, and acknowledge that they are causing real harm.

At the very least, she has to provide some indication of a timetable: are we looking at a short extension, or could the curbs apply for weeks, or months, to come?

Once again, there is the fog of uncertainty over what lies ahead, but it must be resolved soon, before businesses start going to the wall, and more livelihoods are lost. A question-mark also hangs over whether exams will go ahead this year, after they were cancelled in 2020 and 2021. Education Secretary Shirley-Anne Somerville says we may have to wait until the end of March before we find out whether they will happen.

That’s unacceptable, and Kelvinside Academy rector Daniel Wyatt is correct when he points out the impact on the mental health of the children affected.

Pupils have worked hard towards these crucial exams only to find they may be scrapped yet again – despite the fact that the Omicron variant appears to be far milder than feared, and schools remain open, albeit subject to disruption.

The restoration of formal exams is critical – they are a vital measure of performance, and without them the system is in danger of losing credibility for employers and universities.

As Graham Grant writes on this page, the alternatives, as the past two chaotic years have demonstrated, are unpalatable.

Ministers should strain every sinew to make sure that exams happen in 2022 before yet more damage is done to the life chances of thousands of young Scots.