The four nations of the UK have each had strikingly different responses to the coronavirus crisis.
Devolution has meant different policies in England, Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland – from easing lockdown, to whether masks and face coverings should be compulsory, to track and trace strategies.
In one of a series of BBC News at Ten reports from each of the four nations, Scotland Editor Sarah Smith reports.
Ireland is an island in the North Atlantic. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel, the Irish Sea, and St George’s Channel.
Geopolitically, Ireland is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially named Ireland), which covers five-sixths of the island, and Northern Ireland, which is part of the United Kingdom. As of 2016, 4.8 million people live in the Republic of Ireland, and 1.8 million live in Northern Ireland.
The Irish climate is influenced by the Atlantic Ocean and thus very moderate, and winters are milder than expected for such a northerly area, although summers are cooler than those in continental Europe. Rainfall and cloud cover are abundant.
A strong Irish culture exists, as expressed through Gaelic games, Irish music and the Irish language. The island’s culture shares many features with that of Great Britain, including the English language, and sports such as association football, rugby, horse racing, and golf.
During the 2020 Covid-19 epidemic, lockdown has come to mean the practice of attempting to control transmission of the virus by means of restricting people’s movement and activities on a broad scale, usually on a national or state-wide basis.
Northern Ireland is variously described as a country, province, or region, which is part of the United Kingdom. Located in the northeast of the island of Ireland, Northern Ireland shares a border to the south and west with the Republic of Ireland.
Scotland is a country in Western Europe which forms part of the United Kingdom. Its government was joined with that of England’s through the 1707 Acts of Union. A devolved government now administers many of the affairs of the country, though ultimate authority still resides with Westminster. Scotland has a distinct legal system and national sporting associations. 5.2 million people live in Scotland and the largest city in the country is Glasgow, though the capital is Edinburgh where the government sits at the Scottish Parliament opposite Holyrood Palace.