We’ll meet again... don’t know where, not sure when
WE’LL meet again. We even have a bit of an idea, now, of how and when. Nicola Sturgeon’s road map out of lockdown was delivered last week, with this Thursday being the day Scots can sunbathe in the park and meet with one other household outdoors.
Garden barbecues with (one set of) neighbours are allowed, but only if they nip home to use the loo and don’t pass through your house to get to the back garden.
For everyone, everywhere, apart from those you live with, the two-metre distance rule still applies at all times.
The plan to return the country to some kind of normality was broken down into phases.
Agricultural, construction and other outdoor businesses such as forestry can restart some work (although the spluttering of Scotland’s farmers that they’d never stopped, as cows still needed milked and crops planted, was audible even to this city centre native).
In phase two, play parks will be unlocked and cancer patients will see screening restart.
Pubs can open beer gardens but no one is allowed inside to order at the bar. Factories, laboratories and small shops can return to full output as long as social distancing measures are in place.
Phase three is when the schools start back, but only part-time, and this phase (hoped to be some time in August) is when we can all – finally – get a haircut.
It’s also during this phase when staff can return to offices and when churches can open to small groups. This is the point when the authorities say you can finally visit your granny’s house. If getting the country into lockdown was hard, it was a piece of cake compared to having everybody learn and understand exactly what will be allowed and when as we come out.
There’s also the confusion between what is law and what is recommendation.
For example, in phase one and phase two (roughly two months in length) the Government says there is a five-mile rule in place and that people shouldn’t travel more than this distance from their home.
HOWEVER, a postannouncement briefing conceded that this doesn’t apply to people who want to visit family members who live more than five miles away, as long as you meet outside.
An Aberdeenshire colleague pointed out that this plan was clearly written by townies, as half of rural Scotland has been breaking the (new) five-mile rule every week as they live more than five miles from the nearest supermarket.
There is no perfect plan or order to reopen goods and services safely. But governments everywhere need to be clear about what they are asking people to do and, crucially, why they are asking them to do it.
In the 24 hours after the announcement, my inbox was flooded with questions:
‘Construction can begin to start in phase one, but what about individual tradesmen like joiners and kitchen fitters, when can they start non-emergency work?’
‘How come mental health treatment begins in stage one but cancer screening doesn’t start until phase two?’
‘Why is my daughter allowed in her childminder’s house during phase one but not allowed in her granny’s house until stage three, unless her granny is her childminder?’
‘If learning is going to be half at school and half at home, how will that work and what do I tell my boss about when I can come back to work?’
These questions need proper answers if this phased approach is going to function.
We saw on Wednesday, when the hot weather enticed hundreds of people to crowd together at Portobello beach, that lockdown rules will fray – and quickly – if the public isn’t kept fully onside.
Explaining why a restriction is important in preventing a second wave, or potentially transmitting the virus from a hotspot to a clear part of the country, will go a long way in reassuring folk that there is a reason for the restrictions they are being put under.
The toughest question so far has been: ‘What about single people or couples who each have their own place?’ The rules say they’re pretty much going to have to stay apart for months and months to come.
That is a question that needs an answer, too, and sharpish, to stop otherwise law-abiding people from making their own decisions, rather than following the rules.