People find it hard to stay apart during Covid
It's been a tough few weeks for us in these here parts watching Covid-19 case numbers climb, and I feel very sad for those who have lost loved-ones and can only hope those in recovery will come through it well and have the support they need, writes David Stewart MSP.
Get in touch by email or by phone if you think I can help with anything. I’m glad to say I remain one of the lucky ones. My nearest and dearest are fit and well and long may it stay that way.
Mulling things over during the last few days I’ve realised the one – I guess unsurprising thing – that Covid-19 has shown us, is we really struggle to stay apart from one another. We all have stories of how hard it has been to lock down that much-loved, but equally strong-willed, elder. God love them. I’ve even heard stories of people contemplating hiding granny’s car keys to keep her in.
If it’s that hard to handle just one person, can you imagine how hard it must be for shop workers to keep all their customers in check and enforce the social distancing rules. Not all customers, as we know, are so obliging and this is a pandemic so for many, stress and anger is running high.
Figures from the shop workers union, USDAW, have revealed 15 retail workers are abused or assaulted every day, and these numbers have doubled since the onset of Covid-19. I’ve heard, thankfully from other areas, horror stories of customers hurling to shopkeepers cruel and twisted threats, such as: “I’d get a test if I were you. I’ve got Covid”.
No-one should have to put up with abuse at work. That’s why I was so glad to see a bill put forward by my Scottish Labour colleague Daniel Johnson, which gives shop workers legal protection again harassment, go through last week. The Protection of Workers (Retail and Age-restricted Goods and Services) (Scotland) Bill creates a new statutory offence for assaulting a shop worker. A step in the right direction.
Another legal decision that cheered me up was the Supreme Court’s ruling insurance companies must under certain criteria pay out business interruption. I’ve been campaigning for this and I’m delighted to see it come through. For many firms, those lump sums will mean the difference between staying open or shutting down.
And at a time where we are at a low-ebb, the vaccine roll out has kept our chins off the ground. There are logistical problems and this is definitely a job for the professionals, but we will be supporting the government to make sure they get this right.
Of course, there now lies the danger of vaccine euphoria. It’s not the beginning of the end of the pandemic but, more likely, “the end of the beginning” to borrow a phrase from Winston Churchill.
