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<\/a><\/p>\nHere in the Borders our gratitude for the professionalism, pertinacity and courage of the NHS is focused on the Borders General Hospital. \u00a0 We became accustomed to singing the praises of the BGH long before this March, and now our confidence in it gives all of us a sense of security if we are healthy and reassurance if we are sick.\u00a0 The BGH is in the frontline in dealing with Covid-19.\u00a0 That in turn increases our reliance on the wider NHS and care network in the Borders –\u00a0 the local hospitals, our GPs, the district nurses, the pharmacies, the care homes and the army of volunteers that support them. They too are working flat out, often cut off from their families and exposing themselves to the possibility of infection.<\/p>\n
Scottish Borders Council and Police Scotland have kept the fabric of our lives in place; extraordinarily little has changed given the additional burdens they are having to shoulder.\u00a0 The rubbish is collected and the postie still comes. Each of us has a part to play during this epidemic, and by fulfilling that role we contribute to the common good.\u00a0 For some it means working long hours providing essential services; for others it is by being still, in isolation and perhaps loneliness.\u00a0 Some are struggling to remain employed so that they can support themselves and their families; others are working from home alongside their school-age children.\u00a0 These adjustments bring strains, but they can also open new avenues, new ways of doing things, or even help us to re-discover skills and habits we have lost.<\/p>\n
As centres of infection emerge, each part of the country is being exposed to the impact of Covid-19 at different times and to different degrees.\u00a0 Undoubtedly the lives of those who live in Britain\u2019s major cities have been more fiercely affected than have ours.\u00a0 Proportionately, we have – so far – suffered far less severely than Glasgow or London. Here in the Borders, even the residents of our towns are close to open countryside and can take exercise without infringing NHS guidelines.\u00a0 But we also have many people living in remote locations, without access to public transport or adequate on-line services.<\/p>\n
The commitment to our communities, which is a hallmark of Border life, and which is maintained by innumerable individuals \u2018who make a difference\u2019, has come into its own in the last few weeks.\u00a0 \u2018It\u2019s at times like this that you find out who your friends are!\u2019\u00a0 Many people have found that their friends live next door or just down the road.\u00a0 Neighbours to whom they have only nodded have been willing to do their shopping or chat on the phone.\u00a0 The Community Resilience Groups have found out who is at risk and collated the information.\u00a0 The Community Support Groups have contacted volunteers, set up easy access points, and established who needs assistance and with what. Towns and villages have been sustained by hundreds of community initiatives. Those of us who have to self-isolate must just live with our guilt at not being able to reciprocate, knowing that by doing so we are helping to contain the problem.\u00a0 The capacity to cope with Covid-19 comes from here, from this collective response \u2013 as the Queen recognized and for which we give thanks.<\/p>\n
Finally, there is one group for whom the advent of spring and the imminence of summer are always busy, whether there is or is not an epidemic.\u00a0 This year is no exception.\u00a0 The Borders are set in countryside of outstanding beauty because we are in large part an agricultural community.\u00a0 Farms do not stop in \u2018lock-downs\u2019.\u00a0 Lambing is now in full swing, and shortly crops will be ready to harvest.\u00a0 New life and new birth should feed our hopes and renew our optimism.<\/p>\n
The Duke of Buccleuch,\u00a0HM Lord Lieutenant,\u00a0Roxburgh, Ettrick and Lauderdale
\nProfessor Sir Hew Strachan, HM Lord Lieutenant,\u00a0Tweeddale
\nMrs Jeanna Swan, HM Lord Lieutenant, Berwickshire<\/p>\n
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To the Editors of the Berwickshire News; the Border Telegraph, the Peeblesshire News and the Southern Reporter When the Queen addressed the nation on the impact of Covid-19 on 5 April, she captured \u2013 as she invariably does – the … Continue reading