ONE blessed day, we will finally put all of these Covid-related precautions, masks included, behind us.

One day. But not just yet.

The upbeat news is not only that all remaining travel restrictions have now been lifted but also that, as of March 21, the last domestic legal measures will “be replaced with appropriate guidance”.

But as Nicola Sturgeon made clear as she addressed Holyrood earlier this week, the requirement to wear masks in shops and on public transport and at public events will persist until at least April 4.

Ms Sturgeon argues that this is a prudent move given the current spike in new Covid numbers – more than 9,000 new coronavirus cases and 28 further deaths, according to the latest Scottish Government statistics.

There had understandably been much symbolic importance attached to the expectation that, come Monday, mask rules would be abolished. The country urgently needs final confirmation that, after the most profound of recessions, things can return to normal.

Scottish businesses were not slow to voice their frustration with Ms Sturgeon, asserting that further delays in the abolition of masks would dent business confidence and slow down economic growth. On the brighter side, however, the lifting of all other restrictions will boost businesses, and not before time.

Ms Sturgeon’s decision came as masks continue to recede from public view. This is what has happened in England, Boris Johnson’s fiefdom, where the legal requirement to wear a mask has been abolished for several weeks.

British Airways has become the first major airline to scrap masks on flights, unless the destination has its own restrictions and legal requirements. Virgin Atlantic says pointedly that its customers should be free to choose to travel masked or unmasked, on routes where international regulations around mask-wearing do not apply.

It has not gone un-noticed, either, that New Zealand (population five million) is now in the process of reopening its borders to international travellers. Overall, the impression is an abiding one: that much of the world is finally stepping free of the restrictions that have shut down our lives and our economies for two catastrophic years.

Alison Rowat alluded in these pages, a few days ago, to Ms Sturgeon’s innate caution perhaps being the reason why the First Minister wants to see Scots continue to wear masks. Caution has been her watchword in dealing with pandemic-related restrictions, and it has generally served her and the country well.

It has to be noted that the wearing of masks has not become the touchstone for belligerent arguments as it has in England. Being obliged to don a mask before we enter a shop, a pub or a train is something we have grown accustomed to. Fogged-up spectacles are not a great problem in the wider scheme of things.

It says something for Scotland’s social cohesion that we have accepted the precaution with only a few grumbles. Actor Laurence Fox’s noisy public hostility towards masks was just what it was: the work of a contrarian who was seeking to get himself noticed.

But a more serious point lies beneath Ms Sturgeon’s announcement this week, and it is why we remain to be convinced that it is the correct decision.

In the first place, if all the other restrictions have been abolished, what difference would mask-wearing make on its own? You don’t need to be a mask sceptic to wonder whether the inexpensive ones most of us favour actually do any good.

Additionally, Covid rates are lower in England, where mask rules are a thing of the past. And the link between infection and serious illness is not as strong as it was when the pandemic was at its height.

In the second place, Scotland’s recovery from the economic damage inflicted by Covid-19 has been markedly slower than is the case with England, Wales and Northern Ireland.

Scotland’s economy grew by 6.9 per cent last year, compared to 7.5 per cent across the rest of the UK.

Though it grew by 1.3 per cent in 2021’s final quarter, slightly ahead of the other countries, our GDP was only 5.9 per cent higher than in the final quarter of 2020, less than the 6.5 per cent rise that experienced by the rest of the UK. John Swinney sounded an optimistic note on Thursday, but the jury, by and large, is still out.

Families in Scotland are facing punitive rises in the cost of living, which will have a marked effect on their disposable incomes, which in turn will make them re-think their spending habits. Businesses need to see an end to what Liz Cameron, chief executive of the Scottish Chambers of Commerce, has described as the “start-stop restrictions that damage our businesses and economy so badly”. Scrapping the mask mandate is surely part of that.

Masks serve as a highly visible reminder that we are still in a pandemic; they remain a blunt tool as the Scottish Government continues to struggle with other, more urgent issues, such as air-flow in schools.

Following England’s lead on the wearing of masks is surely better than this endless caution. Johnson told Parliament in January: “We will continue to suggest the use of face-coverings in enclosed or private spaces particularly when you come into contact with people you don’t normally meet.

“But”, he added, “we will trust the judgement of the British people”. There will come a time when we in Scotland will have to take that leap of faith.

P&O showed ruthless contempt for its staff

‘CALLOUS’ does not even begin to describe it.

P&O’s handling of the mass dismissal of its workers brought to mind some of the most poisonous excesses of industrial strife of the 1980s, when Margaret Thatcher was in power.

A company executive delivered a video message to 800 workers, saying: “I am sorry to inform you that your employment is terminated with immediate effect . . . your final day of employment is today”.

It was ruthless, cowardly and deeply cynical. It reeked of contempt for its loyal UK workforce who will now, through no fault of their own, be replaced by agency staff on cheaper contracts. Unions, stunned by the move, spoke of workers, in tears, being escorted off their ships.

There is speculation that the company may well have breached employment law. Amidst the chaos, many P&O customers, understandably furious, have been left high and dry as sailings were cancelled.

It is too early to say what the consequences for Dubai-owned P&O will be, but it deserves every shred of the criticism that is now being levelled at it. It has tarnished its reputation for a long time to come.