I KEEP thinking about what Dr Michael Ryan, executive director of the World Health Organisation, said about how to beat Covid-19 in a press briefing back in mid-March.

“Be fast, have no regrets. You must be the first mover. The virus will always get you if you don’t move quickly,” he said and added: “Speed trumps perfection … if you need to be right before you move, you will never win.”

That was just a month ago, a mere few weeks ago and yet looking back, it feels like another world entirely. Crucially, it was a statement made just days after the UK Government, on advice from their team of scientific experts, decided to stop testing and were sending mixed messages to the public on vital social distancing measures. And it was a week before the UK went into lockdown. Dithering is neither speed nor perfection. The depth and reach of the UK Government’s failure to act fast and properly prepare is only emerging now in the shocking and unacceptable numbers of daily deaths occurring in the UK, with Britain only second to America in terms of loss of life.

While the UK Government was navel-gazing, caught up in a circle of self-reinforcement in terms of political will and scientific advice, experts outside the Number 10 bubble were issuing dire warnings of the consequences of inaction. Many members of the public and certain UK organisations decided to listen to advice outwith the Government, stockpiling food, masks, gloves and anti-bacterial gel or shutting down mass gatherings and normal business proceedings.

Many calculated that experts like Ryan knew what they were talking about and the UK Government didn’t. After all, Ryan is a former trauma surgeon and epidemiologist with almost 25 years’ experience managing acute risks to global health, including the Ebola outbreak and Sars. He has been at the frontline and his words struck a chord with those who had watched on in horror at what was happening in countries like China and Italy.

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The public decided to be Ryan’s “first mover” while the Johnson-Cummings double act was all about needing to be “right”. Their whole political raison d’etre was driven by a patronising and elitist notion of a select few power brokers knowing what was best for the little people.

I say was, because although according to yesterday’s Downing Street briefing he is back at work, now Cummings is off the media radar, just a mere blur of the running man seen exiting Downing Street as fast as his legs could carry him the day the country discovered the Prime Minister had been struck down with coronavirus.

I say was, because there is no going back for the Government now the truth of its condescending inertia and lack of care for its citizens has been exposed by the huge and growing death toll. It can try and blame the experts, it can enlist its giant PR propaganda team in league with certain sections of the mainstream media and spin the truth, but when death comes knocking at your door, it’s personal for the electorate.

Its massive failure has also been exposed by our near neighbours in the Republic of Ireland whose comprehensive response to the pandemic, with clear public information and strict lockdown measures implemented fast and before the UK, has resulted in far fewer deaths per population than the UK. The acting Taoiseach, Leo Varadkar, is even back practising as a doctor while running the country’s Covid-19 crisis.

Varadkar, like many leaders in the west, will have questions to answer once this is all over about his government’s failure to adequately fund their health service these past few years but for now, it’s a matter of chalk and cheese when you compare him with Boris Johnson.

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It’s the same to the north, with Denmark about to cautiously ease restrictions on their lockdown due to their rapid response in March, being one of the first countries in Europe to enact strict measures to combat the spread of the virus. Iceland, Finland and Norway all reacted quickly, too, and have seen far fewer deaths and illness than Sweden for instance, which chose a more relaxed approach to mitigation.

In New Zealand, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern completely rejected the “herd immunity” theory initially bandied about by Boris and co because it would have resulted in so many New Zealanders dying. Instead, Ardern implemented an elimination strategy, with mass home quarantining, strict border controls, expanded testing and contact-tracing plus community surveillance. Her government chose the health of their citizens over the economy. The result is that they are now turning the corner on the virus.

There’s a message here for Scotland. Look at these independent countries with similar population size to us and look at the decisions they have made during this unprecedented time. It’s not too late to act, we can still save lives. But we have to go our own way. This is no time for cautious adherence to the status quo from Westminster.

The Scottish Government has hinted that it will take different action if necessary. It’s necessary now, yesterday, last month even. Testing, contact-tracing, public health surveillance (with protection for digital privacy and civil liberties), isolation of hotspots, proper PPE, masks for everyone in the population. The Scottish Government has already successfully pushed at the doors of Number 10 for further action and initiated change; let’s keep pushing.

We’ve been advised to act as if we all are carriers of Covid-19 and behave accordingly, taking appropriate measures to protect our family, friends, neighbours and wider community.

My message to Scotland is let’s go further and act as if we are truly in charge of our own response and make the right decisions accordingly. If “speed trumps perfection”, then devolved decision-making surely trumps constitutional restrictions – because this is life or death and every day counts.

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