Scotland's Covid rules: We need a simple highway code-style guide to help people stay safe – Daniel Johnson MSP

Today sees the easing of restrictions in England with our own ‘Freedom Day’ set for August 9.

Hand sanitiser could become normalised at the entrance to every building, says Daniel Johnson (Picture: Matt Crossick/PA)

Although the link between cases and deaths has clearly been altered, if not completely broken, removing all restrictions in one go is reckless and makes no sense.

It’s clear Boris Johnson has caved in to pressure from his anti-mask backbenchers but at least masks look like they're staying for now in Scotland and in Wales.

On one hand, I am relieved that we don't see his recklessness in Scotland but the problem here is that rules have become so complicated and difficult to follow that they are being abandoned by most people.

One government is scrapping restrictions and the other is making them difficult to follow, so the outcome is almost the same

You end up asking yourself ‘what’s the difference?’

The regulations are incoherent and need a major overhaul. Having a Level 0 which still has restrictions in place is bizarre and counter-intuitive.

Covid is not going away any time soon, so how about we properly normalise things like sanitiser at the entrance to every building; ensure indoor places are ventilated as much as possible; try and minimise our contact to only a dozen people a day; and don’t be in more than one indoor crowded place each day?

It's right for us to get back to normality but we also need new rules of thumb and guidance, similar to the highway code which does not have the force of law but is still easy to follow. If we are going to establish a degree of normality, we need something like that.

Daniel Johnson is Labour MSP for Edinburgh Southern

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