£5.50 a pint? I’ve found ‘new normal’ has downside

With pubs, shops and schools re-opening and hopeful signs of a vaccine, things are looking up although a pint seems a bit pricey, writes Steve Cardownie.

Customers can now drink inside pubs for the first time in months (Picture: John Devlin)

Signs that the city’s social scene is beginning to recover with the relaxation of the “lockdown” rules were evident over the last week with bars and restaurants allowing customers to eat and drink within their premises for the first time in months.

Procedures put in place to accommodate patrons were pretty varied from the fairly sophisticated to the fairly relaxed. One bar required the customer to take a photograph of a barcode, click on a link and then fill in the contact details requested whilst another randomly asked for contact details and wrote them down on a scrap piece of paper. Not all customers were approached for their details, however, making any effort to “track and trace” nigh on impossible.

Table service was adopted in some pubs whilst others allowed the customer to order at the bar, wait for their drink and then move to seat with a two-metre social distance rule prevalent in some and a one-metre rule in others.

Pub-goers seemed to take the changes in their stride although the premises were noticeably quieter than normal, leading to the obvious conclusion that many people were not yet confident enough to venture out for a drink – whether due to Covid-19 or the hike in bar prices, with one bar in Rose Street charging £5.50 for a pint. However, many pub doors have remained firmly shut with the financial risks of opening at the moment being deemed to too daunting, particularly if employers have furloughed their staff. Whether this will continue to be the case come October, when the scheme is due to come to an end, remains to be seen.

Another welcome and important development is the news that the city has begun preparations for a return to full-time schooling on 12 August. At an extra cost of £20.2 million to the city council, the return to school does not come cheap but it is no less welcome for all that. Although warnings have been sounded from the Scottish Government and others that the return date is subject to review should there be a spike in Covid-19 cases, with a final decision being made on 30 July, the mood appears to be one of optimism and pupils’ education is set to resume with an air of near normality.

Schools will have new hygiene measures in place including hand sanitiser dispensers strategically placed at the entrances for the use of both pupils and staff and new cleaning procedures ensuring that all areas are thoroughly cleaned on a daily basis.

Parents have been concerned for some time that the enforced break in their children’s education would have a severe impact on their attainment levels and the return of full-time schooling has been the subject of fierce debate. With evidence from some countries that have already returned to full-time schooling that there has been no corresponding increase in Covid-19 cases, the case for their return here has been strengthened and for many the resumption of their children’s schooling cannot come soon enough.

Predicting the course of Covid-19 has sometimes proved to be an inexact science with some warning of a “second wave” this autumn/winter and others a more sceptical of a significant return. As reported in yesterday’s paper, vaccines are currently being developed and tested, with the one being trialled by the University of Oxford giving some cause for optimism, although Professor Sarah Gilbert from the university said that there is still much work to be done. According to Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance, from a total of 148 candidate vaccines, 17 are now in human clinical trials in countries around the world, so the outlook is far from bleak.

There are many aspects of the lockdown which are still in effect and which have had serious consequences for the city’s economy, with the impact on festivals and events being a good example, but the latest round of relaxations has undoubtedly lightened the mood and have indicated that, although Covid-19 may well be around for some time to come, efforts are being made to further minimise its reach and that slowly but surely a new normality is beginning to emerge.

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