Our government has failed to protect us from the economical impact of Covid-19.

Sitting with my family watching Nicola Sturgeon on the news saying that she is going to put Scotland in lockdown as of the 26th of December for 3 weeks was not a fun experience.

You see, my father is a self-employed taxi driver- whose income is largely based upon taking drunk people home from clubs and pubs. With lockdown there is no one to drive around- because everyone is in their own house. This means my dad can’t earn any money- and the money from the government is just not cutting it.

My sister recently got her job back at Build a Bear, they let her go earlier in the year because of covid and they brought her back to be a Christmas temp. When her contract first started the central belt of Scotland was in tier 4 so she couldn’t work, and this new lockdown brings us to near the end of her contract. This massively reduces the money she hoped to make to support her gap year after she finishes her degree at University.

Personally, I dread the lockdown and the appearance of this new strand of Covid-19 because I live away from home for University, and I fear I will be unable to return for semester 2. I know I can’t focus on my work at home, the same way I can at Uni and I fear this will be detrimental to my grades.

However, these are all petty problems. There are far bigger issues than the issues faced by my family because we are luckily enough to not have lost any loved ones to this virus, touch wood, we haven’t lost a business or been left with nothing to ear or live of off. The impact of this virus is more than I can personally comprehend, it has not only taken the lives of many, but it has ruined the lives of many.

This virus has stolen people’s careers, hopes and dreams and the government has done little to help. The government have failed independent retailers, the entertainment sector and the self employed. They have failed to consider the impact of their actions.

They have shown a lack of care towards the people of colour in this country, the people in care homes and the students. They have failed to protect these groups, and their decisions have negatively affected so many people in this group.

The UK is having to be helped by UNICEF for the first time ever, in the 70 years in which UNICEF has been around. This is something that should bring shame to our governments and should prove to them just how badly they have handled this pandemic and how badly they have failed in protecting the people in this country.

In summary, in the government’s plans to protect us from this virus they have failed to protect us from the inequality in this country, with unemployment rising, people losing their houses and people going hungry.