Opinion Matrix: We cannot afford another national lockdown over coronavirus

It's leader warned that the country cannot afford a second national lockdown - saying it will call serious economic damage.

The country's GDP shrank by more than 20% in the second quarter of this year and did not start to recover until restrictions were lifted.

"There can now be little doubt that the British government got the first national lockdown wrong," the paper said.

"The prime minister took too long to face up to the scale of the challenge, the restrictions came too late and the nation saw normal life put on hold for longer than in other comparable countries."

It said children need to stay in the classroom and that targeted measures have an important role to play.

"When the government introduced national restrictions in March, it did not have a system in place for dealing with smaller flare-ups. Now that it does, it should do as much as it can locally and regionally," it said.

READ MORE: Opinion: Kevin McKenna: Coronavirus shows Scotland is already behaving like a nation again

"In truth, the only reliable way of avoiding collateral damage would be a working test-and-trace system, so those who have the virus can stay at home while the rest of us go to work and continue to support the economy. It is unfathomable that the government failed to use the summer to ensure that there was sufficient and reliable testing capacity to cope with the second wave. Ministers must, after all, have seen it coming.

"The government relies on the public's trust and co-operation. The prime minister needs to recognise his mistakes publicly and level with the country about the difficult choices that we now face. Mr Johnson's message may well be that, in the absence of an effective vaccine any time soon, we will have to learn to live with the situation in a sensible, balanced way that limits infections without crippling the economy. The one thing that we cannot afford to do is to shut up shop again."

The Scottish Mail on Sunday

Ruth Davidson rued the loss of hundreds of STEM technicians - the people who look after equipment and chemicals and set up experiments so children can get vital hands-on experience.

She was concerned that new figures show a third of technicians have been lost by schools over the past decade.

"When it comes to the next generation of scientists and engineers, the picture is an unequal one, with a persistent gender gap. Girls may make-up the majority of Higher Biology entrants, but they are swamped in physics, where they make up just over a quarter of entrants. In computer science, it's even more dire, with girls making up just one in six of pupils studying to Higher grade," she wrote.

"It's no wonder, then, that this is reflected in the workforce - the National Advisory Council on Women and Girls states that just 19 per cent of Scotland's engineers are female, while only 10 per cent of senior managers in STEM professions are women.

"Scotland is simply not training enough scientists or engineers - it doesn't recruit enough teachers in these subjects to give every child the opportunity to learn, it's falling down the international league tables and women and girls are Scotland's great untapped talent in this area.

"Covid could be a massive 'reset' button for planners and politicians. We know that getting a new generation of bright, well trained and motivated STEM professionals into our labs and workplaces is essential for the country's continued health, economy and environment. Let's make this a national priority."

Sunday Mail

It's leader said there was a growing body of experts who believe Scotland is not getting the right balance between the need for care home residents to see their loved ones while protecting them from Covid-19.

"While some increased access has been granted, tight guidelines mean a reasonable level of human contact is impossible for most," it said.

This is not just taking a terrible psychological toll, it is also harming residents' health and could potentially cut more lives short that Covid-19, according to Care Scotland chief executive Dr Donald Macaskill,.

"Nobody wants to see a return to the horrific death toll in care homes at the height of the pandemic. But there must be a way of letting families - while utilising PPE, Covid testing, temperature checking and hand sanitisation - to spend time with loved ones in private," the paper said.

"First Minister Nicola Sturgeon and Health Secretary Jeane Freeman need to review guidance and find a more humane system.

"We can't allow our response to one humanitarian catastrophe create another."

Scotland on Sunday

It's leader concentrated on the decision by Edinburgh University to rename the David Hume Tower as simply "40 George Square" because of the Scottish Enlightenment philosopher's racist views and the subsequent outrage is the latest in a series of what might be described as "culture wars".

But the paper said these decisions are not for "a mob to make but democratically elected leaders, and relocation, rather than attempted destruction, should be the first option". It said: "Statues are 'of people', but also 'by artists' and great art should not be so casually thrown away.

"If the name of a building causes offence, then changing it is simply good manners," the leader stated. "No-one who is polite and kind carries on doing something that they know causes offence to others without a good reason.

"And given how wrong Hume was about "non-white races", his reputation does deserve a blow. There is a tendency to turn flawed human beings into national heroes, saints or even gods and to pounce on any criticism as heresy or an affront to national pride.

"We feel sure that if Hume were alive today, he would realise the profound error of his ways - but also join those who oppose any such veneration of false gods."