What kind of normality do we want after Covid?

The question is, what normality? For instance will this be the beginning of the end of the pandemic or will it still be a feature of everyday life that necessitates us being vaccinated every year and still taking precautions?

Indeed having suffered loss of lives, livelihoods and education disrupted, what future normality do we want?

During the crisis emergency steps were taken to widen pavements and provide temporary cycle ways. Do we want them to become now to become permanent features?

Certainly the increase in working from home brought quieter roads and less pollution whilst turning our centre centre unusually quiet with consequences for businesses.

It is something that will need adequate consultation with all to plot a sustainable way forward. Whatever is agreed, the need for a more accessible and attractive city centre is clearly necessary.

The Chief Medical Officer Chris Whitty has certainly highlighted how physical activity is key to our recovery after Covid-19 and this has to be a integral to our city’s rehabilitation. We are well placed to have so many parks, leisure centres as well as the Peak District. However we need to invest in these facilities.

If the government really embraces the Chief Medical Officer’s advice they have to make sure local government is properly resourced to expand leisure facilities and make them more widely attractive to those who need them most and have felt excluded. We can become more physically active without going to leisure centres and we can stimulate that with better public transport links.

Normality must also mean sustainable, so safer futures for care homes as well as ensuring every child has access to IT devices for home schooling, are important. ​​​​​​​ Above all we aspire to a city at ease with itself, mindful of our obligations to each other, respecting the contributions our front line workers made – another incentive to be more physically active as those that were not as fit were more susceptible.