The dark days of January 2021 won’t be forgotten easily. As the Covid pandemic raged, the 5th of the month saw Scotland enter lockdown.
Health became the focus of our lives like never before. The ever-changing face of Covid; its impact on local lives and livelihoods; the rules; the vaccines; the passports; the constant debates. And the many, many questions in our ‘new normal’ world.
A year on, here’s a look back at the challenging year that was 2021.
And our predictions for health questions that will dominate 2022.
When the Scottish Parliament was recalled on Monday January 4, 2021 it meant only one thing: Scotland was facing a second lockdown.
Nicola Sturgeon’s decision followed a rise in cases of a new variant – 2,464 cases in 24 hours.
She explained that while vaccines were ‘the way out’, the period until then would be ‘the most dangerous since the start of the pandemic’.
Scotland’s Covid Roadmap 2021
Lockdown in January
The First Minister stressed the need to act “quickly and decisively”, saying without the new measures, hospitals could run out of capacity to deal with Covid patients in weeks.
Schools closed, home schooling returned, and there were further restrictions on gatherings, with only two people from two different households able to meet outdoors.
Amid new restrictions – in an effort to stave off lockdown boredom – locals converged on beauty spots across Tayside, with police having to intervene to manage traffic.
As the vaccination rollout gathered pace and Covid cases began to reduce, national clinical director Jason Leitch explained society opening up would be ‘gradual and staged’.
News that schools could open after Easter 2021 led to questions around how it would be managed. Yet the efforts of staff and pupils saw schools return and stay in until summer break.
Covid continually dominated our daily lives and the headlines.
In April NHS figures revealed there were no Covid patients in Tayside hospitals.
The timeline to Freedom Day in Scotland 2021
And by the time summer came restrictions had eased and many of us had a glimmer of hope we were over the worst of the virus.
June – and the Euros – saw a spike in Covid cases with Public Health Scotland declaring nearly 2,000 were linked to Scottish fans travelling to Wembley.
Freedom Day finally came on August 9, 2021.
Digital vaccine passports were introduced in October. And we all learned how to lateral flow, download the vaccine passport app and continued to don our masks as we adapted to the changing landscape.
New Covid variant emerges
We were plunged into uncertainty again as winter approached with another new variant and an overwhelmed and overworked NHS.
The positive impact of vaccines and boosters gave cause for optimism. But news in late December of another restricted Christmas left the beleaguered hospitality industry angry.
The year ended with record numbers of highly-transmissible Omicron cases but also hope it may not be as severe as Delta.
Yes, 2021 was the year we learned to live with constant Covid changes. But will 2022, as some experts predict, be the start of the end game?
Covid questions for 2022
Here are five areas that are moving into focus now:
- The World Health Organisation has predicted a more positive outlook for 2022. But when and how will we move from pandemic to endemic?
- Do we really need 4th doses – or will fear of over-vaccination become a reality?
- Are lockdowns now a thing of the past – or could a new strain derail progress?
- How long will we need restrictions such as masks and social distancing?
- Could vaccination inequality in poorer countries hamper progress?
The challenges of 2021 may continue but our understanding of living with Covid is certainly improved a year on. Sign up to our Health and Wellbeing newsletter to keep updated on future changes and information.
