Shetland Times Column 14th March 2025
In some ways it is hard to believe five years have passed since the Covid-19 pandemic hit our shores, and yet at the same time it feels like a lifetime ago.
Although the news was about a pandemic from China, it seemed too far away to affect us.
Osla Jamwal-Fraser was at the time living in Italy and her social media posts warned about what was happening there with rising death toll and hospitals struggling to cope.
If that was happening in Italy then perhaps the virus was not that far away from Shetland after all.
The Shetland community quickly pulled together to support each other.
What is not in doubt is the long-term impact of the pandemic, the loss of life, lockdowns and social distancing. Long Covid is a daily reality for far too many people, young and old.
Who can forget how the Scottish Government, in its bid to empty hospitals for an anticipated avalanche of pandemic patients, allowed elderly patients to be discharged from hospital into care homes without testing. Once this happened, there was an inevitability about the virus running rampant through the mostly elderly population in care homes.
Former Health Secretary Jeane Freeman said at the recent Covid Inquiry that she would regret Covid care home deaths “for the rest of her life”.
People who died during the pandemic were deprived of the company of their loved ones, with many unable to be with them during their last hours. Funerals were held with only a handful in attendance, depriving those left behind of the usual rituals and opportunities to grieve together.
Shetland was ahead of the curve in closing schools before the Mainland though school closures have had some long-lasting impacts. Isolation affected children and young people and it is more than a coincidence that schools are seeing an increase in violence and aggression. Little wonder too that speech and language development of those now starting primary school appears to lag behind. In those all-important first months of life, babies and toddlers only had mask-wearing adults communicating with them when out in the world.
We will all vividly remember the pain of not being able to hug family and friends during restrictions. The impact of lockdown will be realised and debated for many years to come and it will be difficult if not impossible to fully understand the impact of lockdown restrictions.
Following International Women’s Day on 8 March, a members’ debate was held in the Scottish Parliament this week. This year’s theme is ‘Accelerating Action’, calling for increased urgency in addressing barriers to gender equality. It was important to highlight the plight of women in Afghanistan and the devastating impacts for women of the international aid cuts announced by both Donald Trump and the UK Labour Government. Shetland Women’s Aid recently reported results of their survey about life in Shetland for women and it is clear much more work is needed at home as well as internationally.