You could be forgiven for imagining the Covid pandemic is over in Scotland.
The war in Ukraine has pushed the virus so far down the news agenda that today’s confirmation that the first Westminster ‘Partygate’ fines have been issued barely caused a ripple.
First Minister Nicola Sturgeon will give a Covid briefing on Wednesday, when many expect the legal requirement to wear face coverings will be scrapped in Scotland.
Every other restriction, from travel rules to vaccine passports, has already been eased. Most of us feel free to go about our business unhindered.
But the Covid pandemic is far from over and the threat to public health in Scotland is very much still present.
Health chiefs in Fife spelled out the dangers of complacency this week when they revealed hospitals in the region are treating the highest ever number of people with the virus.
A sharp rise in Covid cases, combined with higher-than-normal A&E attendances and staff shortages, is stretching an exhausted system to its limits.
And Fife is not alone in this.
There’s not a health authority in the country that has the luxury of imagining the pandemic is over.
And the rest of us might want to spare a thought for what we can do to safeguard the NHS, if not ourselves.
Measures such as distancing and ventilation, hand-washing and mask-wearing may not be mandatory but they still make sense.
Personal responsibility can protect the public good and for as long as Covid continues to circulate at such high levels in Scotland, caution remains our best defence.
