The exposed, austere islands of the Outer Hebrides carry the beautiful Gaelic name of Innse Gall, or “islands of the strangers”. Against a backdrop of big skies, lonely farmhouses and sandy beaches, physical distancing comes easily here.
In small communities, such as those on Uist, isolation and the vast open spaces have preserved the local population from the devastation wrought elsewhere by the Covid-19 pandemic. Like everywhere else, lockdown has been strictly enforced and observed. Travel has been highly restricted – only lorry drivers and essential workers have been allowed on to the ferries since 16 March. And, as of last week, this archipelago of six principal islands linked by causeways has had no confirmed cases so far.
It is this very particular geographic and social profile that has led ministers to see islands such as Uist as the perfect location in which to test strategies to end the lockdown. The notion has been floated by several scientists and endorsed by Michael Gove, the Cabinet Office minister, who said last week there was “scientific justification” for piloting measures such as contact tracing to “relax measures at a progressively greater rate” on some island communities before the rest of the UK.
So are islanders rushing to volunteer to throw off the shackles of lockdown? Not a bit. In fact some want it to go on even longer.
“People either want a lockdown as long as everyone else, or an extended lockdown,” Uisdean Robertson said. The councillor for North Uist, a ward in Comhairle nan Eilean Siar, the Western Isles local authority, said his constituents were evenly split and no one had contacted him to press for an early end to the lockdown.
“When you have the Michael Goves of the world, people that are remote from here, coming out with that kind of stuff,” Robertson said, “there was some irritation. Guinea pigs was one of the terms used.”
The reason for the irritation is that the situation in Uist is not as clear cut as it seems from the outside. There are a substantial number of retirees and two care homes on the islands. The nearest hospital is in Stornoway, a ferry ride away. Some islanders feel at greater risk from Covid-19 than those on the mainland.
There is also no doubt that surviving lockdown on the islands is easier than in cities such as Glasgow or London. Robertson can walk his dog for miles every day over the “machair” – the rich grasslands – and among the crofts without seeing another human being.
On Benbecula, Rev Drew Kuzma has a large garden in his Church of Scotland manse and empty sandy beaches to wander with his family.
“We’re fairly fortunate. My nearest neighbour is 300 yards away – if it’s windy, we can’t even hear one another,” Kuzma said. But he says he and others are cautious.
“Everybody would love to see the economy return to normal. But if you had to weigh the economy against health – and given that I’d be the one to oversee the final moments of someone’s existence – I just don’t think you can compare that.”
Stephen Peteranna, also on Benbecula, has more to lose from the lockdown. He runs three hotels, two of which are shut – the other remains open for essential workers, such as a refrigerator engineer who came to fix some supermarket freezers.
He would support an early lifting of restrictions – he is sceptical of the claim that there have been no cases so far – but with some caveats. He said: “If there’s a national advantage to using the islands as test beds, maybe we just have to get on with that. But ending lockdown early wouldn’t mean tourists could come – and the government might end business support. I’d be really worried that staff would lose their jobs if we weren’t allowed to keep them on furlough.”
There are signs of some normality returning. Hector Stewart furloughed most of his 21 staff at Kallin Shellfish five weeks ago, but last week they began fishing for lobster, crab and scallops again.
“We have taken about half of our staff back on and we’re finding small markets – back to doing once- or twice-weekly trips to Glasgow,” he said. “Everybody would welcome the lockdown to be eased, but we’ve got to be careful that we don’t get the virus.”
He is worried about the elderly and the relative scarcity of medical facilities, adding: “But if it can be done safely, yes, we’d support it.”
Even so, there are still many questions. Who would decide if the lockdown is lifted? And how?
Kuzma said: “There’s been no testing to my knowledge, and we’ve not been consulted as a population.
“Although,” he added, “you get used to not being consulted.”
