Lockdown is not easy for anyone but, the grim reality is, some are wondering if they will make it out the other side. It’s not a pleasant notion, maybe not even the most common train of thought, but something we know that many are struggling with.

It’s not hard to understand why. Most people’s support systems have been overridden by the crucial instruction to stay in our homes. It will be weeks before hardline restrictions lift and, likely, many more months before our everyday lives begin to resemble such.

Which is why no decent person can dismiss the ramping up of lifeline services.

Steps are being taken to help those who find themselves bunkered down in the most undesirable situations, whether it is alleviating loneliness or making specialist support is availableto those who need it.

Volunteer armies are helping the elderly who, often living alone, risked losing access to groceries and medicine. Magazines, books and handwritten letters are being popped through letterboxes in an attempt to bring comfort to those cut off from the outside world.

And yesterday Nicola Sturgeon acknowledged the strain that lockdown is having on the nation’s mental health, insisting: “The most important message I want to get across is this one: Help is there if you need it.”

The First Minister also vowed that supporting mental health services, notorious for their lagging wait times, would be a “big priority” in the “recovery phase” of Covid-19.

The same applies to a Scottish Government campaign aimed at tackling domestic violence during lockdown. We know that calls to Refuge, the UK’s biggest domestic abuse charity, rose 700 per cent in a single day, while another helpline dedicated to changing the behaviour of perpetrators has seen a rise of 25% since lockdown began.

The scale and impact of these often-invisible issues are hard to quantify. But, by the time a clearer picture of the damage emerges, the opportunity to do something about it will have long since passed. Most of us are sensible enough to know that a lack of reported incidents does not necessarily mean there are no incidents; it means none are being reported.

Compassion and common sense are not mutually exclusive and, if we are to save as many lives as possible, we must rely on both. Being proactive in tackling conceivable threats to people’s safety and wellbeing is not a knee-jerk reaction. By putting support mechanisms in place, we lose practically nothing, while the vulnerable stand to gain everything.

Coronavirus may be the most prominent threat to life in Scotland right now, but it is not the only threat. There are people risking their lives by staying at home and it is crucial that the country’s crisis response includes ways to protect them, too.

Our columns are a platform for writers to express their opinions. They do not necessarily represent the views of The Herald.