The easing of lockdown restrictions at the centre of the coronavirus outbreak offers hope that there may be a flicker of light at the end of this long tunnel.
While it is wise to be sceptical of what the Chinese authorities say about anything, it does seem that life in Wuhan is edging back to normal.
So when will we start to see progress made closer to home?
The World Health Organisation has not covered itself in glory since Covid-19 emerged as a global threat.
But as the body responsible for international public health, what it says must be taken seriously.
Dr Hans Kluge, WHO’s European director, has stressed the importance of mass testing to “tighten the grip on the virus”.
Germany is often cited as an example by advocates of increased testing given the country’s significantly lower death rate from the disease.
It has the capacity to carry out 500,000 tests a week, while the UK has tested little more than 300,000 since the pandemic began weeks ago.
First Minister Nicola Sturgeon made a stout defence of her Government’s approach to the outbreak on the day more than 70 new deaths were announced.
But Scotland has only tested 26,000 people in total since March 1 so if the German model is the right approach, we are nowhere near achieving it and neither is the rest of the country.
Hopefully the UK’s approach has not simply been determined by years of chronic NHS underfunding and is based on sound conclusions drawn from the available evidence.
Right now, despite glimmers of hope from China and elsewhere, the death toll in Scotland continues to rise.
An end to the lockdown here is weeks, possibly months, away.
It is unclear when we will bring this nightmare to an end and it is worrying that there seems to be a disagreement on how it can
be achieved.
Kindness matters
Rocker Sir Rod Stewart struck the right note when he reached out to an old soldier who had to spend his 100th birthday alone.
Rod, one of the Record’s most famous readers, was moved to tears when he read our story about Black Watch veteran Alfred Waters.
The Maggie May singer sent the Perthshire man a few bob to have a knees-up when the pandemic is over.
Alfred’s family were touched by the kind gesture amid the lockdown.
We loved the story to start with but Rod’s raised the spirits again in these troubled times.
He gave us all a reason to believe.
