Comment: Rays of light after dark winter in lockdown but we must move with caution

A cautious move out of lockdown begins on Monday with the first pupils returning to school.
Light at the end of a long, dark COVID tunnelLight at the end of a long, dark COVID tunnel
Light at the end of a long, dark COVID tunnel

The day cannot come soon enough for parents who have faced the huge challenge of working from home, childcare and overseeing lessons in the depths of winter.

There is still some way to go yet before we can consider resuming the activities we once took for granted, but there is light at the end of the tunnel and it is growing brighter.

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Despite some well publicised problems in Kirkcaldy, the vaccine roll-out has been surging ahead with overwhelming praise for the staff manning the centres.

Offices, bars, restaurants, theatres, libraries and leisure centres remain closed, but many can start to at least think about what the road ahead might look like as the Scottish Government turns its attention to the next steps necessary to re-start huge sectors of our economy.

The pace will be slow and steady - it has to be.

We cannot afford a repeat of last summer which led to a subsequent lockdown, and then a third one this winter.

We have to be able to move freely, but safely, and also accept that there may well be hotspots of cases which could lead to firebreaks on an ultra-local level - short, sharp lockdowns to stem any community spread.

The ambition may be the eradication of the virus.

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The reality is we will have to life with it - and learn to live with it - for a long time to come.

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