Pirate's Cove

See, this totally has everything to do with science, right? Right?

The Scottish Government wants its emergency coronavirus powers to become permanent. https://t.co/EikdNcTIfm

— STV News (@STVNews) August 17, 2021

From the link (photo via ZendoDeb)

The Scottish Government wants its emergency coronavirus powers to become permanent – including the ability to order schools to close, impose lockdowns and operate virtual courts.

Ministers are considering changing the law to permanently allow them to release prisoners early or permit a wider range of healthcare professionals to give vaccinations.

They are seeking the public’s views on removing the planned expiry date for many of the temporary measures, with Deputy First Minister John Swinney arguing that some of the changes have had a “demonstrable benefit to the people of Scotland”.

The majority of the government’s current powers introduced during the pandemic are due to elapse in March 2022 although they can be extended by six months with Holyrood’s backing.

But the consultation published by the government wants to make many permanently available, claiming it would ensure “ministers can respond effectively and rapidly to any future threats to public health in Scotland”.

What will the Scottish people say? If they disagree and are against this plan, will the government go ahead with giving themselves authoritarian powers permanently?

In addition to being able to impose future lockdowns and restrict gatherings, ministers would also be able to order school closures “during the remainder of the pandemic” or for any future outbreak of an infectious disease, so long as they believe it is “necessary and proportionate”, and the chief medical officer has been consulted.

And how soon till those orders are extended for other things? What if they declare ‘climate change’ a medical emergency, for instance, and apply these rules? If you think that’s just crazy talk, you haven’t been paying attention.

Meanwhile, in one of the nations lauded as the best in COVID response

One Virus Case Puts New Zealand Into Nationwide Lockdown

New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern put the nation into a three-day lockdown after the discovery of the first community case of Covid-19 since February.

The snap lockdown will begin at midnight tonight as authorities rush to identify the source of a single infection in largest city Auckland, Ardern said at a news conference Tuesday in Wellington. While genome sequencing has yet to be completed, the case is assumed to be the highly infectious delta variant, she said.

Totally about the science, right?