Superyacht formerly owned by Chelsea FC owner Roman Abramovich, pictured in Firth of Forth, near Edinburgh
Edinburgh buyer, 70, ‘expelled from Tesco’ after complaining about other unmasked young men
With pubs now open and the number of domestic visitors allowed has increased, many of us have naturally discovered comfort in the company of friends.
Although fortunately we have not yet noticed a repetition of the outrageous and antisocial scenes in the meadows, this bratizing social estrangement is a genuine threat.
The outbreak in Lanarkshire serves as a wake-up call. The lesson that can be learned from this and the Leicester epidemic is that the virus can come back and we have to be prepared.
To do this, we want to be informed of other countries. South Korea, Japan and Singapore were among the highest effective responses to coronavirus. Each exposed in a particular and early way to the epidemic in China, but controlled to maintain the infection and, above all, low mortality rates.
Interestingly, this early intervention allowed these countries to eliminate the virus more quickly, but they also moved away from some of the drastic maximum measures implemented in Europe. The joy of these countries is that outbreaks are going to occur.
An attractive feature is that while these outbreaks have noticed an increase in infection rates, mortality rates have not followed. Strong action was essential for the highest vulnerable, as well as proactive testing and traceability regimes.
There is no time for public consultations, but the time we have now can allow us to know the mistakes made here and reports abroad. The government will need to commission an immediate independent evaluation. This may indicate a plan to respond to outbreaks as more of us begin to socialize.
We’ll all have to prepare for a wave for now.
Daniel Johnson is the Scottish Labour MP of south Edinburgh
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