AS Scotland records its highest number of new Covid cases since February, restrictions are being eased across much of the country. Almost 1000 people a day are testing positive for the virus. New cases have more than tripled in the past month.
Glasgow has moved from level 3 to level 2, allowing people to meet in each other’s homes again and drink alcohol inside pubs and restaurants. A football fan zone without testing is planned.
The country’s national clinical director has warned that Scotland is now in the early stages of a third wave of the virus, with about 70% of new cases thought to be the Delta variant that was first detected in India. This variant appears to be quite significantly more transmissible even than the Kent variant that was dominant earlier in the year, and early data suggests it may increase the risk of hospitalisation.
READ MORE: Boris Johnson wants world vaccinated by end of 2022 to 'defeat Covid'
I’m a 60-plus person who is set to receive a second jab in just over a week’s time which won’t be effective until at least the end of June. Millions of other folk will be in a similar situation. Many will have to wait several months from now to receive a second jag and then wait several more weeks to gain a level of Covid resistance.
I can’t help but begin to feel I’m now taking part in a giant, nationwide lab experiment – and I’m one of the lab rats – being exposed to increasing levels, and chances of, infection to see if I will get ill.
If a company wants to test out a new drug, in a clinical trial, it would call for volunteers. It would have to ensure its volunteers were reasonably safe from dangerous side-effects. It might even pay them. It would certainly need to have some kind of ethical pre-approval and continued oversight.
I can appreciate the desire to get back to what passes for normality, however it is clear that with the reopening of the economy comes the possibility of serious illness, and even death for some of our citizens.
Is this a price worth paying for a pint inside a pub or a football fan zone?
Brian Lawson
Paisley
THE SQA was set up in 1996 to manage the accreditation and award of all educational qualifications in Scotland below degree level under the auspices of an independent board of management.
At that time education was effectively under the control of the Scottish Secretary of State, and the authority’s structure ensured that the opportunity for political interference was minimised. Unfortunately this has also prevented the Scottish Parliament from effectively monitoring, assessing and modifying the SQA to ensure that the body kept pace with the changes that have taken place over the whole range of education from nursery to postgraduate level in Scotland.
READ MORE: Scottish exams body to be reformed amid grades row
The problems last year that arose due to the effects of the pandemic focused attention on the working of the SQA in a way that had been impossible in previous years.
At last it was possible to examine in detail the reasons for the traditional discrepancy – the so-called teacher boost – between the assessments made by school staff and the SQA.
The inexplicable revelation that the SQA had created moderating algorithms that selectively reduced the grades of pupils who achieved high grades from schools because their school had not performed well in the past sealed the fate of the SQA in its present form.
The fact that the SQA had produced results that reduced the level of progress being made in closing the attainment gap fostered a suspicion that the SQA had been micromanaging examination results so that they corresponded to the authority’s expectations rather than reflected the effects of advances made in education in Scotland over the years.
This review is an opportunity for the Scottish Parliament to prioritise the interest of pupils and produce an integrated system that puts fairness and equality first and is adaptable enough to meet future changes and challenges in education.
John Jamieson
South Queensferry
REGARDING Mike Herd’s revelation (Letters, June 3) that anti-ageing trials are to be undertaken using 500 dogs as “guinea pigs”, I must ask; why not just use guinea pigs?
Guinea pigs are hardy, experienced in this type of work and most importantly, have very low aspirations.
However, this experiment, if successful, has caused Mike to speculate that humans could be next, resulting in lifespans of a century and a half – instead of, in my case, merely looking it.
According to Mike, a life span of 150 years means we might live to see Scotland independent. Independence in only 150 years? Steady, Mike, steady!
Malcolm Cordell
Dundee
JEEZO, the wild cat on Saturday’s page 14 appears to have undergone genetic modification.
John Meek
via email
I SEE the MoD are now importing sporrans from Pakistan instead of keeping our endangered sporran makers in Scotland gainfully employed. Another nail in the Unionist coffin. Time to commit this “equal” union to the grave, as it’s well past the autopsy stage!
Iain McEwan
Troon
HAVE to laugh at Robin McLean’s quip regarding Ruth Davidson’s apparent need for help to take up her seat in House of Lords (Letters, June 5). “After all she’s promised to campaign to abolish this unelected second chamber!” Aye, like many before, it seems, until they read their pay slips.
Tom Gray
Braco
IF we are to have some fun choosing a title for Ruth Davidson, may I suggest “Barreness of Principles.”
Andrew M Fraser
Inverness
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