Lifting the restrictions? It feels like the right time

I’m writing this in sunny Dubai where I’ve been supporting Andy on the ATP Tour and visiting Expo 2020 – delayed because of the pandemic.

Restrictions are still in full force here with masks worn both indoors and outdoors. If you think they’re uncomfortable at home, you should try them in this punishing heat and humidity. It’s natural to wonder if they are really necessary outdoors, but in a country that houses the world’s biggest international airport and has so many people visiting from overseas – at Expo pretty much every country in the world is represented – it’s understandable.

It’s a different story for us back home in Scotland, where international tourism and business visitors are on a much smaller scale. So I was delighted to hear that our Covid-19 restrictions will be lifted on March 21 and the masks can come off. The time is right. This decision, I’m sure, will be welcomed by the majority of people, because the vaccine and booster programmes have been so successfully rolled out.

It feels like we have gone through the worst variant in Delta. Omicron seems much less severe, and any subsequent variants will – we hope – be weaker and our booster jabs mean we will be as protected as we can be to help us cope with that.

It’s been almost two years since the pandemic started and lockdowns and other restrictions began. Covid fatigue kicked in a long time ago and with all the physical and mental health challenges that so many people are facing, the time has come now to get the masks off and work our way back to normality.

But Covid is still out there and we must continue to be vigilant around those – like the elderly, sick or immune-suppressed

– who are vulnerable and are understandably still very anxious about picking something up. We have to remember that the virus is not gone yet and I hope that the constant washing and sanitising of our hands continues to be a way of life. I am so used to doing it now and it just makes sense. We know germs are passed on through handshakes. I hope too that the community spirit we found during the stress of the pandemic, endures; the way we looked out for each other, especially those less fortunate or able than ourselves, and recognised the importance of supporting local businesses. And importantly, relaxing the restrictions means our wonderful NHS can get on with the job of clearing the backlog of operations and procedures that patients have been waiting so long for.

On the Covid front at least, things are finally looking brighter.