Editorial

LIFE IN THE CAPITAL has definitely changed over the last month. Now traffic is back to almost normal levels, people can be seen out and about enjoying themselves both outside and inside cafés, pubs and restaurants.

In June the government hopes to relax restrictions even further by moving areas of the country down to Level 0. Some of this will depend on people sticking to the rules meantime, and some of it will depend on any new variants. The most recent one to cause concern is the so-called Indian variant which appears to have resistance against the vaccine. We are now armchair scientists and epidemiologists, and of course a little knowledge goes a long way. It is best then to listen to the real experts and one of those whose message has shone through for me is Professor Devi Sridhar. Her no-nonsense straightforward approach is comforting to read, and the main message is get vaccinated, get tested and isolate if you receive a positive result.

MOMENTUM

Professor Sridhar, who is Chair of Public Health at University of Edinburgh, appears to look up to the Chief Medical Officer, Dr Gregor Smith, recommending to her Twitter followers that they read what he says. He said recently: “Vaccination is our ally. It’s even more important for momentum to be maintained and accelerated where supplies allow. This is particularly true of second doses to provide full and sustained protection. Targeting this where there is lower uptake is especially important.”

But both caution against reading too much into the data on the new variant which is still extremely limited.

So here we are in June and moving towards the summer where the city would usually fill up with festival goers and performers. The Edinburgh International Festival will go ahead, albeit in a more slender form than usual. Read more on our What’s on pages 18 and 19.

I very much hope that you and your families are well and that you enjoy our monthly look at the news in Edinburgh.

Phyllis Stephen, Editor