It is now clear that the SNP have lost control of the coronavirus pandemic in Scotland.

We have the highest infection rates in Europe and many of our hospitals are in code “black”, unable to cope. Test and trace in Scotland is in complete disarray and cases continue to spiral. The heroic efforts of our NHS and testing staff are being undermined by the incompetence of the SNP government.

It is time that the SNP faced up to the scale of their failure. It is time to stop pretending to the people of Scotland that everything is ok and instead take the immediate and decisive action required to mitigate the damage they have already caused.

I would start with a plan to pandemic-proof our classrooms ahead of schools returning next month. Many of our children in West Dunbartonshire last year experienced numerous disruptions to their education as a result of being in contact with a positive Covid-19 case.

The Scottish Government must allocate additional resources to West Dunbartonshire Council to reduce the risk of further disruption to our young peoples’ learning. This year we must do more to keep our staff and schools safe. Parents and pupils deserve clarity.

We must include school staff in any booster vaccine programme as a priority. We must increase testing in schools to monitor the prevalence of the virus and we must introduce a classroom ventilation inspection programme and active ventilation in all classrooms that require it.

This plan can easily be introduced by the Scottish Government prior to the return to school after the summer holidays. We are four weeks away from the start of school term but so far there is a distinct lack of leadership and clarity and it is not good enough.

Long Covid and its effects will be our next health and economic crisis in Scotland and figures in West Dunbartonshire are particularly concerning. We need an ambitious and forward looking plan to tackle and treat long Covid. The UK Government has already allocated substantial funding for the creation of specialist clinics to support individuals with long Covid.

So far there are no plans from the Scottish Government and a failure to acknowledge that long Covid requires specialist treatment. The SNP need to get a grip on the threat.

The Labour Party is calling on the Scottish Government to invest in research to understand the impact of long Covid, to establish a Scottish network of specialist long Covid clinics and to acknowledge that long Covid is and will be an occupational disease.

England and Wales are already targeting help, in Scotland we are being left behind. All we see is dither and delay from the Scottish Government and complete silence from our SNP elected representatives for West Dunbartonshire and Clydebank. We deserve much better than this.