A Scots ICU consultant has hit back at George Galloway who demanded the Scottish Government got the country 'back to normal now' and 'briskly' bring lockdown to an end.
The former Labour MP took to Twitter on Thursday to vent about restriction while Scotland remains tight in the grip of Covid-19.
He demanded life 'go back to normal' after Nicola Sturgeon announced a cautious route out of lockdown.
Galloway wrote online: "My strong advice Scottish Government is to briskly begin a real end to this lockdown.
"Being able to meet a couple of people outdoors in the wind and rain isn’t doing enough for the people’s soul.
"Let’s get back to normal now."
Dr Andrew Mackay is a consultant at Glasgow's Queen Elizabeth University Hospital, Scotland's busiest hospital.
Having worked in intensive care for a decade, Dr Mackay quickly responded to Galloway's rant stressing that a slow exit would prevent Scots taking steps back in our fight against the deadly bug.
He wrote: I agree that giving people tangible hope and a deadline makes tolerating ongoing restrictions easier.
"It's much better to exit slowly and once than 'now' and having to revert."
In January Dr Mackay opened up about the 'trauma' of working in ICU during the pandemic to our sister title, Glasgow Live.
He's treated patients who admitted to flouting guidelines and perhaps putting their own wants before the safety of others.
He said: "Some patients to being at events they shouldn’t have, going to pubs, being in social situations where they didn’t abide by the rules.
“People often make decisions based on how it affects them.
"I urge them to think about how they’d feel if they were asymptomatic and passed it on to a grandparent or a parent.
"That’s the reality of this highly infectious disease.”
He added: "If you don’t think this is real or serious, come spend a day at work with me.
"If you want to say it’s just a bad flu, come to intensive care and you’ll see the reality.”
Dr Mackay reiterated the steps Scots are being told to take to help suppress Covid-19 and urged those sceptical of the vaccine to take it.
“Wear a face mask, wash your hands, stay at home, socially distance and when it is available, take the vaccine," he said.
"That is the thing that’s going to change the entire narrative of Covid-19.
"That is our only exit strategy.
"We all have a responsibility to do our bit.”
It comes as Nicola Sturgeon this week confirmed that lockdown easing plans are to go ahead.
The First Minister told the Scottish Parliament the continued fall in coronavirus cases is giving grounds for 'cautious optimism'.
Children in primaries four to seven are due to join their younger classmates back in school from Monday, as will more senior secondary school pupils.
But Galloway's attitude towards coronavirus rules previously sparked fury when he attended a football game in an area that was under tier four restrictions.
The dad-of-six watched Queen of the South take on his team, Dundee at the Dumfries ground on Boxing Day.
The entirety of mainland Scotland was moved onto Covid Level 4 at one minute past midnight on December 26, meaning no fans should have been allowed to attend.
However, Galloway tweeted from the match, causing uproar among fans stuck at home.
Queen of the South later released a statement apologising for the incident.
