Sadly, since my last column, there has been a surge in coronavirus cases, with devastating impacts on communities, businesses and now the student population.

In a thousand years, it would have been impossible to think of students being confined to their student accommodation all day long with food parcels delivered to them.

Such is the current reality that activities that once were fairly routine, such as going to a football game, or hanging out with friends, now appear to be something from a utopian future.

In our defence against this virus, politicians play the lead strategic role because scientists advise but it is ultimately the politicians who decide. And here in Scotland, health is devolved, so the responsibility for keeping infections under control lie solely with the Scottish Government.

I am sure the entire country is rooting for the Scottish Government to succeed, which is why the combat strategy must be open to more scrutiny. After all, failure will negatively impact local councils and local communities like Victoria Park ward in Glasgow which I represent.

There is no room for complacency and sentiment.

Contrary to what many think, Scotland has not handled this crisis well. This has resulted in a death toll which is disproportionately high compared to other countries of similar size.

The statistics are grim. As of September 16, Denmark, with a population of 5.796 million people, had 633 Covid-19 deaths. New Zealand, with a population of 5m, had 25 deaths. Scotland, with a population of 5.463m, had more than 4,000 deaths.

The failure to introduce earlier mitigation measures before the need for a full lockdown, the discharge of vulnerable non-tested elderly patients into care homes, a shambolic non-coordinated quarantine policy, and problems with Test and Protect Scotland have all contributed to this failure.

Time will fail to mention all the negative secondary crises such as the exams fiasco and the current shambles with the return of university students.

The Scottish Government has consistently held daily briefings but what is needed now, more than ever, is a robust parliamentary process to ensure adequate scrutiny of guidance.

The impact of the current crisis cannot be underestimated and already, the economic fallout is unprecedented so scrutiny is not a luxury.

In my ward, there is already the prospect of losing community facilities such as Whiteinch Library, with no reopening date set by Glasgow Life. Lives and livelihoods are at stake so the Scottish Government must be open to more scrutiny.