THE United States has cut quarantine time for Covid-positive cases to five days. Boris Johnson, in England, has cut quarantine time to seven days and is being urged to reduce further to five. Yet Nicola Sturgeon, in Scotland, continues to throttle the life out of the Scottish economy with a 10-day quarantine.
Yes, cases of Omicron are rising but mainly in younger age groups, and thankfully hospital admissions and death rates are stable, reflecting the experience of South Africa that Omicron is often mild.
In England, contacts of a Covid-positive case can continue their normal life if they have negative lateral flow tests. In contrast, contacts in Scotland must isolate for 10 days even if their lateral flows are negative.
Nicola Sturgeon is increasingly out of step, and meantime, business, livelihoods and the running of our public services in Scotland suffer. The overly cautious package of restrictions here is damaging Scotland’s economy and the functioning of society.
It is time for a more optimistic strategy.
Dr Bruce Halliday, Dumfries.
* JOHN…
