NICOLA Sturgeon has promised to carefully consider calls for a "National Day of Mourning and Remembrance" to remember those who have died from coronavirus.
Last week, Donald Macaskill, the CEO of Scottish Care, called for some form of tribute to the thousands of Scots who have died directly or indirectly from Covid-19.
Writing on his blog, he said the talk of “Super Saturday” and future freedoms as the country eases out of lockdown had meant those who had lost loved ones were feeling left behind.
He said many people “have found it hard to reconcile a return to ‘normal’ with the loss and emptiness which is a constant ache in their waking moments and restless nights.
“They have spoken of the way in which they feel as if they have been put to the side in their grieving as the world rushes by in its race back to normality.
"They have spoken about becoming the invisible grieving, those whose story is an uncomfortable and constant reminder of the vicious pain and raw absence that this virus has and is causing.”
Macaskill said that many had been prevented or blocked from mourning by the restrictions put in place during the pandemic.
He said there needed to be a recognition “that those who have lost someone to CoviHe d19 need to be supported and upheld by the wider community.”
The care boss said establishing a National Day of Mourning and Remembrance for all those impacted by Covid19 in Scotland would “create a point in the horizon ahead to which those who are lost in their grief can find the energy to pull themselves toward in the hope that society will hear their story, will listen to their loss and will be silent in remembrance.”
Asked about the prospect at the Scottish Government’s daily coronavirus briefing, the First Minister said she would “consider that suggestion very carefully”.
She said that, at an appropriate time, Scotland would “absolutely as a country, collectively, want to remember, and mark the loss of life”.
Sturgeon said the government would “sensitively and carefully” consider all ideas put forward.
She said: “The question of if we do this I don't think is in doubt, I think the question is how that is appropriately done, and obviously we will listen to different views and, particularly, I think the views of those who have been bereaved, as a result of Covid-19.”
Lib Dem Alex Cole-Hamilton MSP has thrown his weight behind the plan. He said: “It is only right that we take time to reflect on what our country has been through, thank those whose hard work and diligence has allowed us to glimpse chinks of light in the dark and mourn all of those who have passed away.
“Alongside a day of mourning and remembrance, there is also serious work to be done to boost the pay and conditions of those in the health and care sectors and learn lessons from what has taken place. We are not out of the woods yet.”
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