Sensible approach needed as we seek return to normality

We held the Chamber 's Annual Awards last week - and, like the previous year, we were not able to hold the event in front of 1,400 people at the ICC as we used to before the outbreak of Covid-19.

So, once again the awards were held online. However, things were a little different as, for the first time, we held three viewing parties, two in Birmingham at the Malmaison and Park Regis hotels, and one at St George 's Park in Staffordshire.

Added to this many of the nominated companies for the awards also held their own viewing parties. For us at the Chamber, this hybrid event was our first toe in the water of the transition back to our annual programme of events.

For those of us in front of the camera in the studio set up in Chamber House, it was fantastic to see real people at an event waiving back at us on the monitor.

Attending one of the viewing parties after the event, it did feel strange being within two metres of someone and even a little awkward when someone offered their hand to shake.

There is still a sense of the need to dive for the nearest bottle of anti-bacterial hand sanitiser afterwards. Sharing buffet food is also going to be a challenge in the future. I guess this means that for some of us it is going to take longer than others to adapt to the new freedoms that we can enjoy.

Last week, I had a sad reminder that, although on the wane, the virus has not gone away when we lost a close member of our family to Covid, aged 51. A shock like that does make you cautious about returning to normal too quickly.

I 've been reading with interest the debate on mask wearing and Covid passports. There is talk that the debate about the wearing of masks may become as contentious as the remain and leave campaigns did during the Brexit debate. I hope not.

It seems to me to be beyond doubt that when in close proximity to others, particularly on public transport, you should continue to wear a mask in order to keep them and yourself as safe as possible.

My view is that it would be selfish not to do so and, for the business community, hoping to get our colleagues back into the office before long, it will assist in raising confidence levels about getting back to work.

Public transport remains the biggest concern of those who are being encouraged to come back into the office. I appreciate that there is a debate about how useful masks actually are in preventing the spread of the virus, but it 's so simple to keep one in your pocket and put it on in a crowded train I don 't see the downside to doing so unless, of course, there is a genuine medical reason why it would not be appropriate.

Covid passports, however, are a different matter and I well understand the difficulty with this concept. Like many others I am concerned about the infringement of our civil liberties if this results in others being excluded from what would otherwise be normal activities. It would also place a disproportionate burden on our business community in particular our fragile hospitality and events sector already hit by the costs of lockdown closure.

A Covid passport for travel, which is already in operation, however, seems to me to be a sensible way to allow international travel to get underway and more than likely will be a fact of life for many months and years to come.

So, as we begin the return to normality, let 's just be sensible in order to protect each other and together we 'll find our way through this.

Steve Allen
President, Greater Birmingham Chambers of Commerce
Head of Office Mills & Reeve LLP