GIVEN the Herculean life-saving efforts by the National Health Service and all of its workers, it is unsurprising how positively they are viewed by the public.
Having been out with the dogs at 8pm on Thursday night, it was really moving to see and hear the applause for NHS and all key workers.
Public information about the pandemic is key to the battle against Covid-19, as are the levels of public trust in who is providing the information.
This week, Survation published details of a large-scale UK survey about who is trusted most with providing us with information about coronavirus. Given the public esteem for the National Health Service, the 81% result for the NHS is a high bar indeed.
Second in the survey was the Scottish Government at 70%, ahead of the UK Government at 54% and local councils at 52%.
With the survey size of more than 3000, the Scottish sub-sample is likely to have been three times the average size. This suggests the findings on the Scottish Government are noteworthy. It is a huge credit to First Minister Nicola Sturgeon; Health Secretary Jeane Freeman; the national clinical director, Jason Leitch; interim chief medical officer Dr Gregor Smith; and other colleagues, that they are as trusted as they are by the public.
READ MORE: 75% of Scots support Nicola Sturgeon's coronavirus strategy
Every day, they brief journalists and inform the country about developments with the coronavirus and communicate the next steps ahead.
By and large, trust has been earned by the frank and direct way in which difficult choices have been addressed, including what needs to happen next with the lockdown.
It is now more than a week since the Scottish Government published its detailed paper on the next steps, and hundreds of thousands of copies have been downloaded by the public since then.
This week, the First Minister announced new recommendations on face coverings in enclosed public spaces where social distancing is difficult, such as public transport and in shops.
Scotland is now in line with continental European nations which are further ahead on the coronavirus curve.
Although some UK Government figures seemed to pooh-pooh the Scottish Government recommendation, now Prime Minister Boris Johnson has said face coverings worn by the general public “will be useful”.
It is disappointing to see some London-based observers question the sense or timing of Scottish Government announcements, just because of who is making them.
In some ways it brings to mind the famous statement by Labour’s Lord George Foulkes. “The SNP are on a dangerous tack at the moment,” he said. “What they are doing is trying to build up a situation in Scotland where the services are manifestly better than south of the Border in a number of areas.”
Asked if this was such a bad thing, he said: “No ... but they are doing it deliberately.”
In response to the unfounded attacks made on her, Nicola Sturgeon tweeted: “I’m just trying to do my job – as every other government is.
“This tendency to read malign motives when all any of us is trying to do is tackle the virus as best we can, is tedious and misplaced.”
More than 40,000 people “liked” her message.
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However, one administration that definitely is not earning plaudits for its information about coronavirus is that of US President Donald Trump.
First, he dangerously advised disinfectant as a potential cure for Covid-19, and now he’s given oxygen to conspiracy theories about the virus originating in a Chinese laboratory.
Claims that the virus is a bioweapon have already been publicly debunked by a statement from the office that oversees US spy agencies, saying it agrees with the “wide scientific consensus” about the natural origins of Covid-19.
In an attempt to deflect attention from his handling of the virus crisis, President Trump has been intensifying his war of words with China and the World Health Organisation.
With the US coronavirus death count passing the psychological tally of US losses in the Vietnam war, the timing couldn’t have been worse for President Trump, who faces re-election this November.
According to the RCP poll tracker, Trump trails Democrat Joe Biden by 6% nationally, and is behind in the battleground states of Wisconsin, Pennsylvania and Florida.
In Scotland and the UK as a whole, we have been largely spared from hyper-partisan politics during the pandemic.
However, at some point, “normal” domestic debate will begin to emerge.
Nicola Sturgeon has underlined her commitment to the democratic process carrying on, including next year’s Scottish Parliament election.
It is a good thing to have such a competent Scottish Government leading through these testing times and receiving the high level of public support that it does.
Having a 70% public trust rating on coronavirus information in Scotland is remarkable.
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