So Wee Nic was trying to pursue elimination in the same way that NZ and South Korea and other countries had.
No country in Western Europe has managed this - clearly the disease became too well established here before that was viable. Even countries with a far better overall response than the UK (or Scotland) have not managed. If it was the strategy it obviously failed and was the wrong one.
However without control over borders or agreement across the UK to pursue such a strategy it was always going to be difficult to achieve.
Ahh the confluence between Covid and nationalism. Isn't it far more likely considering the overall relatively low rate of testing, the patchy implementation of test and trace and the fact many people carry the disease with no or few symptoms is responsible for the second wave. The claim the disease was carried back into Scotland 'over the border' (which means from England) I think requires a heavy burden of proof.. How many people traveled from host spots in England into the central belt of Scotland and how regularly?
Personally I think this is a fairly crass nationalist dog-whistle argument.
We did get community transmission down to very low levels and they remain low in many areas of Scotland outside of our hotspots in Lanarkshire, Glasgow and those bits of regions that are adjacent i.e. West Lothian.
This is also the case for areas of rural England which I wouldn't claim as a vindication of policy choices taken but more an indicator or geography and population patterns less accommodating to the spread of the virus
I would rather we continued to pursue an elimination strategy than the other alternatives
Why? Better to be realistic. It failed the first time - the virus was obviously never close to being eliminated
but it will be difficult without control over borders to stop inward transmission,
Inward transmission from where - I mean I know what you mean but I want you to say it. Wheres the evidence the virus was bought back into a virtually covid free Scotland by English interlopers?
Closing international borders ala New Zealand or Australia was viable right back at the start of the year for the whole UK but unfortunately that chance was missed. People may be travelling over the internal UK borders for reasons allowed under lock-down (work, essiental shopping etc) but how many people are in that situation?
full local control over the Scottish bit of the failed UK track and test system
Thats always being the case as far as I know - two apps and two systems.
and control over the funding to target furlough and support folk to isolate when found positive.
I agree support fort areas moist affected by lock-downs must be made available on a flexible base across the whole UK. The Treasury must pull its finger out on this.
It seems we are unwillingly padlocked to the UK Gov failed and disastrous covid19 strategy.
Well this is self evidently untrue as the policy in Scotland has being set by the SG. The actual polices that could have made a real difference (far earlier lock-down and closure of international borders back in February) were not implemented or called for by any of the devolved admins.
The UK has also provided billions of pounds in support both in consequentials to the SG and directly to people in Scotland (I am not claiming this is charity as people in Scotland pay taxes and pay off government debt too).
I am not sure what the aims of the UK strategy are other than lock down now so folk can enjoy Christmas Day and kill their Grannies in January!
Same as everyone else in Western Europe - lock down whilst trying not to destroy the economy and hope for an early vaccine.
