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Opinion & Analysis

Pause for thought

Photo by Eyleen Gomez

It seems remarkable, given the awful headlines of recent days, that the Commissioner of Police has once again had to remind people to stick to the Covid rules.

Gibraltar has now lost 43 people to Covid-19, many of them elderly members of our community. Over half died within the last week.

Behind each grim statistic lies a family’s pain and grief felt across our close-knit community.

We remain in lockdown and are being asked to stay at home to stem the spread of the virus and protect our healthcare system from collapse.

And yet there is still a minority among us who persist in bending the rules, sometimes breaking them outright.

RGP officers are being placed in a difficult position and on Friday and Saturday alone had to issue 19 fines.

Most of us understand the restrictions are there for a reason and that the closer we stick to them, the sooner they will be lifted.

Those who don’t are letting everyone else down and putting vulnerable members of this community at risk.

Think too, for a moment, about the frontline workers who are keeping Gibraltar going during these challenging times, particularly those in healthcare.

For them, the response to the virus is not something they read about in a newspaper. It is the reality of every waking moment at work and at home.

Every day, they give their all to care for the most vulnerable among us and look after those who are fighting this insidious virus that has turned our lives upside down.

Every day, they set aside their own concerns as mothers and fathers, sons and daughters, grandparents and grandchildren, to focus on the task at hand irrespective of personal risk.

Gibraltar is lucky to have people like this, whose commitment goes beyond the call of duty.

Back in March, we used to clap daily for our frontline workers at a time when our health services were thankfully not under pressure.

Now, as the GHA and ERS strain under unprecedented demand, our balconies are silent.

But we should not forget these workers or take their efforts for granted.

Instead, we must support them in the simplest, most effective way possible.

Wear a mask. Keep your distance. Wash your hands. Stay at home.

EDITOR'S NOTE: Our reporters are working round-the-clock to bring you the latest news on Gibraltar and the Covid-19 crisis. All our coverage on this critical issue is available free outside the paywall. If you find it useful, please help us reach more people by sharing our journalism. And if you want to support our work further, please consider subscribing to the digital version of our daily newspaper and all our premium online content. You can subscribe via our website or for iOS devices via the iTunes store. Thank you.

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