Calendar An icon of a desk calendar. Cancel An icon of a circle with a diagonal line across. Caret An icon of a block arrow pointing to the right. Email An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of the Facebook "f" mark. Google An icon of the Google "G" mark. Linked In An icon of the Linked In "in" mark. Logout An icon representing logout. Profile An icon that resembles human head and shoulders. Telephone An icon of a traditional telephone receiver. Tick An icon of a tick mark. Is Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes. Is Not Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes with a diagonal line through it. Pause Icon A two-lined pause icon for stopping interactions. Quote Mark A opening quote mark. Quote Mark A closing quote mark. Arrow An icon of an arrow. Folder An icon of a paper folder. Breaking An icon of an exclamation mark on a circular background. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Caret An icon of a caret arrow. Clock An icon of a clock face. Close An icon of the an X shape. Close Icon An icon used to represent where to interact to collapse or dismiss a component Comment An icon of a speech bubble. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Ellipsis An icon of 3 horizontal dots. Envelope An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Home An icon of a house. Instagram An icon of the Instagram logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. Magnifying Glass An icon of a magnifying glass. Search Icon A magnifying glass icon that is used to represent the function of searching. Menu An icon of 3 horizontal lines. Hamburger Menu Icon An icon used to represent a collapsed menu. Next An icon of an arrow pointing to the right. Notice An explanation mark centred inside a circle. Previous An icon of an arrow pointing to the left. Rating An icon of a star. Tag An icon of a tag. Twitter An icon of the Twitter logo. Video Camera An icon of a video camera shape. Speech Bubble Icon A icon displaying a speech bubble WhatsApp An icon of the WhatsApp logo. Information An icon of an information logo. Plus A mathematical 'plus' symbol. Duration An icon indicating Time. Success Tick An icon of a green tick. Success Tick Timeout An icon of a greyed out success tick. Loading Spinner An icon of a loading spinner. Facebook Messenger An icon of the facebook messenger app logo. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Facebook Messenger An icon of the Twitter app logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. WhatsApp Messenger An icon of the Whatsapp messenger app logo. Email An icon of an mail envelope. Copy link A decentered black square over a white square.

Scott Begbie: Living with Covid means we need to make wise decisions for ourselves

Let's all hope the vaccine wall will hold in the battle against coronavirus
Let's all hope the vaccine wall will hold in the battle against coronavirus

Greetings from Covid Town… it seems I am living in the epicentre of a coronavirus outbreak here in sunny Stonehaven.

With rising dismay, I watched business after shop after tourist attraction announce they were shutting their doors following either positive tests or simply as a precaution.

They were doing the right thing, no matter how painful for the business involved.

Is there fear and loathing of Covid on the streets of Stonehaven?

After all, looking after the wellbeing and safety of your staff and customers must always come ahead of any other consideration. But my heart goes out to those who have lost days’ worth of business, just at a time when things looked like they were getting back on an even keel.

Individual business are taking action

I fervently hope once the closed places reopen, people will flood back to support them, recognising the sacrifice they have made to keep us safe.

And how have things been on the ground in my wee town? Is there fear and loathing of Covid on the streets of Stonehaven? Eh, not really. Folk have just been getting on with their lives, while feeling heartily sorry for the folks affected and hoping no one gets too sick.

It seems to me what happened in Stonehaven set a template of how the future for everyone in the country might look. Instead of state-sanctioned national or regional lockdowns, individual businesses take action themselves to protect people.

 width=
There are plenty of vaccination centres – so get yourself protected

As restrictions ease and people mingle more, it is inevitable that Covid cases will rise.

They are now at a point that in the past a lockdown would be following swiftly. Only this time it isn’t. Nor should it.

As long as the vaccine wall holds and hospital admissions don’t go skyrocketing and the death rate soaring, then we do need just to get on with things.

That is, after all, the point of a vaccination programme.

On the brink of the ‘living with Covid’ phase

It’s not just down to businesses, though. Individuals need to be responsible, too. If you’ve not been vaccinated, why not? Get yourself along to a drop-in clinic, there are plenty of them.

If you’re due your second shot, then don’t delay. Go and do it.

Even if the restrictions change, I will continue to be cautious. I’m not ready to hang up my mask anytime soon

Even once you are double vaxxed, you still need to be sensible. After my second jag, I had a brief feeling of invincibility. That waned along with the dawning realisation that I could still contract Covid and still spread it.

Which is why I wear a face covering, wash my hands regularly, sanitise them even more often, and socially distance. Even if the restrictions change, so it becomes a choice rather than an edict, I will continue to be cautious. I’m not ready to hang up my mask anytime soon.

We are on the brink of the “living with Covid” phase of this pandemic, when the state stops telling us what to do and individuals make their own decisions. Make them wise ones.


Scott Begbie is entertainment editor for The Press & Journal and Evening Express

Read more by Scott Begbie:

This article originally appeared on the Evening Express website. For more information, read about our new combined website.