The next item of business is a debate on the Covid-19 day of reflection, which is an opportunity for us, as a Parliament, to reflect on the impact of the pandemic and its effect on communities across Scotland.
14:31
The annual day of reflection for Covid commemoration takes place this Sunday, 9 March. This year marks the fifth anniversary of the outbreak of the Covid-19 pandemic in Scotland and across the United Kingdom. This is a significant milestone, and I welcome the opportunity to gather in the chamber to remember all those who have been affected.
The day of reflection offers a chance to come together to remember everyone who died during the pandemic. Losing a loved one is one of the greatest challenges that many of us will experience, and we know all too well that those who experienced bereavement and grief during the pandemic faced unique challenges, dealing with loss and grief at a distance.
The day of reflection gives us an opportunity to remember the suffering that was endured during the pandemic, to remember the impact that was felt by all in our society, to remember the fear that we all experienced and to remember the heroic actions of many to support us all.
The day of reflection has its origins in the recommendations of the UK commission on Covid commemoration and in the work of Marie Curie. I put on record my thanks to both groups for all that they have done to support bereaved families and to ensure that, as a nation, we continue to make time to remember those who lost their lives.
Today, as First Minister, I express my deepest condolences to all those who lost family and friends, including those who are able to join us in the gallery today. It is our solemn duty, as leaders and as public servants, to mark the day of reflection and to ensure that those who died are remembered by us all.
In May 2022, it was my great privilege to attend the unveiling of Scotland’s national Covid memorial—the “I remember” walk in Glasgow’s Pollok park. At that event, I was struck by the dignity and strength of those who had suffered loss in such difficult circumstances. On Sunday, I will attend a memorial in Glasgow and lay a wreath in memory of those who lost their lives. The commemoration is organised by Covid-19 families Scotland, a group of bereaved families that was founded by Connie McCready during the pandemic. I pay tribute to Connie, Peter McMahon and Carolyn Murdoch, who serve as the group’s administrators, for all that they do on behalf of the families affected to ensure that the legacy of their loved ones lives on.
To support that legacy, in 2021, the Scottish Government funded the Remembering Together project, which commissioned creative practitioners and artists in all 32 local authority areas to co-create Covid-19 memorial projects. The Remembering Together project is about being part of a process to commemorate those who have lost their lives and those who have experienced loss and whose lives were changed for ever.
The annual day of reflection offers us all the opportunity to remember lives lost, to reflect on the sacrifice of many and to provide space for people to consider their experiences of the pandemic in a way that suits them best. On Sunday, as always, we will remember.
14:35
On behalf of my party, I pay my deep respects to the many thousands of people in Scotland, and the many millions of people elsewhere, who lost their lives to Covid. At moments such as these, we reflect on how our world changed so rapidly and dramatically in March 2020. At first, news reports warned of a mystery virus in China, then of its spreading to Italy, and I still remember the sense of unease—even foreboding.
Very quickly, the state passed legislation that required the population and all but essential workers to stay at home. Mixing with friends and family was mostly prohibited, businesses were shut down, masks had to be worn, prisoners were set free and children were told not to come into the classroom. Those measures were necessary at first, but how effective they were and why they continued for so long are questions for the on-going public inquiries.
In April 2020, while working as a journalist, I reported on a group of heroic care home workers in Forfar who spent 32 nights locked down with elderly residents in a bid to protect them. Later, it emerged that elderly hospital patients who were known to be Covid positive were sent into Scottish care homes, where more than 4,000 residents died. The Crown Office and Procurator Fiscal Service said that those deaths are part of
“the single largest investigation of deaths in Scottish history”,
which is on-going.
All of that had, and continues to have, far-reaching consequences. The schooling and social lives of young people were curtailed, with on-going consequences for learning, development and wellbeing. The national health service’s pandemic focus meant that other treatments were suspended while waiting lists grew and grew. Many businesses fought for survival but failed—through no fault of their own.
On Sunday, we will mark the fifth anniversary of the pandemic. Our thoughts are with all those who lost loved ones. However, we have now reached a stage at which the Scottish Government can no longer deploy Covid as an excuse for all its failings. Two inquiries are attempting to answer serious questions, on behalf of the public, about why harsher lockdown measures were imposed in Scotland, why ministers deleted messages that they knew would be needed by those inquiries and why elderly people were knowingly sent into care homes after testing positive.
Today, we remember, but we can never forget.
14:38
Five years ago, our country and our world were turned upside down. After weeks of rising warnings from across the globe, Covid-19 reached Scotland and the UK. We all remember the anxiety and uncertainty of those early days—a country plunged into lockdown overnight, with restrictions on daily life unseen in generations.
Yet, in the face of such upheaval, people came together. Sacrifices were made not out of obligation but out of care for family, friends and neighbours. It was a powerful reminder of our shared humanity and the kindness that defines our communities. However, the human cost of the pandemic was profound: lives were lost, families were separated and communities faced unimaginable challenges.
Amid it all, the spirit of the nation shone through. People stepped up to support one another, looking after the vulnerable in their neighbourhoods; businesses adapted to support their communities; and, week after week, the public clapped to recognise the incredible dedication of NHS and care workers, who put themselves in harm’s way to protect others.
As we reflect on the past five years, we must acknowledge the strength that we showed and the lessons that we must learn. The pandemic exposed vulnerabilities in our society and placed extraordinary pressure on our public services. Mistakes were made and, too often, people on the front line did not get the support that they needed.
Today, we remember not just the emotional and social toll of the pandemic but the challenges that remain for communities that were once thriving but are struggling to recover. For too many families, the pain of losing loved ones without a proper goodbye remains raw. Perhaps most of all, we remember the children who, even today, are still paying the price for lockdown and who, if we do not act with urgency, will be left to bear the scars of two years of missed learning for a lifetime.
While we reflect today on the human cost of the pandemic, we cannot pretend that it is just a memory. For too many Scots—young and old—the wounds remain unhealed, the pain remains fresh and the support that was promised has, in some cases, not come. Before the last election, this entire Parliament committed to a national recovery, and we must all ask ourselves whether we are living up to that promise.
In remembering the people we lost, we cannot forget our debt to those who live and who contributed so much. That is why, as we honour those we lost, we must also renew our commitment to those who are still in need today. Our reflections must be matched with action, so that we learn from the past and build a stronger future.
On behalf of the Scottish Labour Party, I commit myself to learning the lessons of the pandemic, restoring our public services and ensuring that we honour everyone who lost their lives with meaningful action. Ahead of the day of reflection, my thoughts and prayers, and those of my entire party, are with all the families who lost a loved one and everyone who was impacted by the pandemic.
14:41
This year—2025—marks five years since Covid-19 changed our lives, our communities and our world. In March 2020, we did not know what was ahead of us. We could see the rows of coffins in news footage from Italy, and we knew that something was happening, but we did not know how profoundly it would affect our lives or how many friends and family members we would lose.
Some people say, “We made it through the pandemic.” We did not, though, did we? We did not all make it, and I am so sad for everyone whom we lost. Each life taken was a beloved family member, friend or colleague. Their absence leaves a void that words cannot fill, but their memories live on in our hearts.
Today, we reflect on the sacrifices that were required and the ever-changing impact that the pandemic had on the nation and on people’s daily lives. Many people still face debilitating symptoms, with repercussions for their life and work. We pay tribute to the dedicated work of the health and social care staff and essential workers whose grit, valour and vital work saved lives and kept the country running. We will forever be in debt to the front-line workers who died during the pandemic.
We were all affected by Covid, but, as is always the case, people whose lives were already hard suffered even more—disabled people, people on low incomes, people who live in crowded housing, older people and people with suppressed immune systems. No child or parent will forget the impact of the pandemic on their schooling and family life, and no young person will forget how Covid hampered their start in adult life.
Difficult times can bring out the best in us. We got to see what it looks like when we decide to house the homeless. We got to see who really is essential to our society and how much we take them for granted at all other times. We got extra space to walk in our towns and cities safely, without cars, noise and pollution. We got to show that we care about our neighbours, checking in on them and wearing masks to keep one another safe. We got to see how transformative vaccines are in protecting us from lethal diseases.
Everybody who lived through the pandemic will remember it their whole lives. People affected by long Covid or poor mental health or who lost someone close to them will live with the pandemic their whole lives. Let us take the lessons of respect for essential workers, of helping our neighbours and of making sacrifices to help others, and use what we have learned to build a better future.
14:44
My first memory of the threat that was posed to our country by Covid-19 is of the images that were broadcast on the evening news of primary school children passing around a basketball that was covered in chalk dust so that they could learn about viral transmission. Within a matter of days, we had gone from those cheerful and charming images to the Government commissioning the NHS Louisa Jordan and requisitioning private ice rinks to bolster mortuary capacity.
I do not think that anyone in the chamber or in wider public life will ever forget the enormous impact that the pandemic had on all our lives, an impact that reverberates to this day. In some ways, it will always define part of us, just as it has defined our politics and our society for the past five years. Indeed, it has pulled on every thread that makes up the fabric of our communities, dominating our health system and impacting on education and the economy.
So many of our young people are still suffering under the long shadow of lockdown. That is borne out by the huge number who are still waiting for help with their mental health. Waiting times across our national health service have not improved, and 168,000 Scots are still living with the debilitating effect of what Covid can become. Adults and children alike are fighting against long Covid every day.
Moreover, many of Scotland’s high streets are still empty compared with how they were before the pandemic. All of us are, at some level, still recovering from the trauma of not being able to see or hug our loved ones, of not being able to attend their funerals when they passed away—as so many thousands sadly did—and of the disaster in our care homes.
We all hope that we will never have to live through such an experience ever again, but in the Parliament, we need to deal with events as we find them, rather than how we would wish them to be. As such, we must be guided by the lessons of the previous pandemic when it comes to dealing with the next. There is a lot that can be said about our response to Covid—for better and for worse—and about the decisions that were made, the transparency of the decision making and the way in which rules were made and followed, but that discussion is not for now.
Today, we remember the many people who have died and the many who fought to keep them alive, including our key workers and our health and care workers. Today, we remember all those who are still living with the pandemic’s cruel impact, and we wish comfort to those who grieve and those who still live and toil under its shadow.
That concludes the debate. There will be a brief pause before we move to the next item of business.
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