At the age of 36, American goddess Sridhar holds the chair of public health at the University of Edinburgh. Since the onset of the Kovid-19 epidemic, it has advised the Scottish Government on its health policy. Thanks to long-term sanctions measures, Scotland managed “Mash” Contamination curve, he explains in an interview world, Given that the options chosen by Brazil, Sweden or France “Are not fair”.

What is the situation in Scotland now?

She is good but fragile. Overall, 48% of adults have received at least one dose of the vaccine and the campaign is accelerating. We hope to have all adults vaccinated by mid-July. Then we will see the children, whether vaccines are available and safe. At the same time, there is a lot of pressure to ease the restrictions, as all indicators are pointing in the right direction.

Yesterday, for the first time in months, we did not record any deaths. The economic sector would like to resume everything in general. We ask them to be patient: We will reduce the step-by-step ban by 26 April. We have started, indeed. But we don’t want to go too early and endure the third wave. It is a delicate but encouraging moment of transition.

Is the schedule already established?

Yes, and announced. In late February, we reopened nurseries and primary schools and at the beginning of March secondary education, there was a 50% reduction in staffing. In early April we will reauthorize all outdoor activities and by the end of April it will return to normal, including indoor ceremonies. But we are monitoring the numbers very closely to ensure that this timeline is compatible with the development of the epidemic. We are vaccinating, we are conducting large scale trials and we are tracking the virus in the wastewater to confirm this decline.

What was the highlight of the Scottish approach?

It was established in April 2020. By then, we were following the English situation. But, when the UK government said it just wanted to level the curve, we thought we could do better: crush it. And we did, thanks to long-term restriction measures. Last summer the virus had largely disappeared from Scotland. For a month, no more deaths, no more hospitalizations. But, in August, tourism resumed, without quarantine. And another wave has arrived. Slowly at first. In October and November, with everything still open, the situation seemed under control. But, with the variant B.1.1.7, both more contagious and more severe, we were forced to keep a tighter control.

You have 73.38% of this article to read. The rest is for subscribers only.