It goes without saying that Covid will have major economic implications for years to come.

The Office for Budget Responsibility estimates that government borrowing for April 2020 until April 2021 will be an eye-watering £355 billion.

The Chancellor’s ill-judged “Eat Out to Help Out” scheme ate up £850 million, largely subsiding those who could already afford to eat out.

Yet, Covid’s deadliest and most lingering impact may well be on our health, not wealth.

Already, it’s estimated that 10 per cent of those tested positive for coronavirus will experience one or more of the debilitating symptoms of post-coronavirus syndrome, commonly known as long Covid.

The £760,000 jointly funded by charities and the Scottish Government for an integrated “care pathway” for sufferers is unlikely to go far.

There’s a real danger that it’ll be Scottish GPs who will be swamped by the cases that come through their surgery doors when patients believe it’s safe to do so.

Setting long Covid aside, there’s already a backlog of patients who have been putting off appointments.

Some will have been mindful of “wasting the doctor’s time” in the midst of a pandemic.

Others will have been afraid of being referred to hospital and becoming infected there.

The UK and Scottish governments’ daily briefings focusing on thousands of daily infections and deaths, completely overpowered the other message that the NHS is still “open for business”.

That said, it hasn’t been easy to make a face-to-face appointment with a doctor. As with “blended learning” in schools, video and phone consultations have generally proved inadequate substitutes.

The impact on the “worried well” may not have been too serious, but for those concerned by cancer-like symptoms, the consequences of “Covid delay” are likely to be much more serious.

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Statistics provided by Cancer Research UK paint a gloomy picture. 40,000 fewer people started cancer treatments across the UK in 2020.

Public Health Scotland reported that between March and June 2020, there had been around 4,000 fewer “pathologically confirmed” cancer diagnoses than would have been expected.

In all probability the statistics reflect the drop in the number of those consulting their GPs and receiving a test and diagnosis.

Even so, at the end of 2020 over 100,000 patients in Scotland were waiting for diagnostic tests, a rise of 15% on pre-Covid levels.

Last year’s pause in screening for bowel, breast and cervical cancers will have further contributed to delayed diagnosis and treatment.

BBC journalist and newscaster George Alagiah has spoken of how earlier bowel cancer screening in England would have greatly improved his chances of successful treatment. There is no mystery about the missing thousands.

They are living in the community as their disease becomes progressively worse. At its most brutal, Covid-delay will cost some of them their lives. It will also create a massive backlog for treatment as those in the queue are joined by those yet to be diagnosed.

Commendably, the Scottish Government has developed a National Cancer Recovery Plan and provide funding for Early Diagnostic Centres. But fine words, plans and targets won’t do the trick on their own. For example, the target of six weeks waiting time for some diagnostic tests hasn’t been met since 2012. As with most things, it boils down to money. Cancer services were already stretched to the limit and Covid is likely to have made things much worse. There is a need for a major increase in trained staff to tackle the tsunami that is about to hit. Perhaps the Prime Minister will be able to ring fence that weekly £350m that we no longer send to the EU. Think how many additional laboratory staff could have been employed for the £850m “spaffed” by the Chancellor on Eat Out to Help Out.

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Although the threat from Covid is receding, the NHS is still in danger of being overwhelmed by the backlog that has built up over more than a year. We all have a role to play and prevention is always better than cure. Covid underlined the importance of fitness and general good health in avoiding infection or making a full recovery. Cancer Research UK has also repeatedly warned of the causal link between alcohol, smoking, obesity and cancer. As we emerge from the pandemic there is a golden opportunity for UK and Scottish governments to emphasise and support personal responsibility for lifestyle and health. That makes the national obsession with reopening pubs even more bewildering and suggests we have our priorities all wrong. It seems more important to get the pubs open before gyms and other sporting facilities. It would have been more appropriate had party leaders queued up to be photographed at their local gyms rather than pouring pints down the Dog and Duck. It appears to be a patriotic duty to get down the pub to freeze under a brolly and blanket and consume a burger and chips washed down by six pints of overpriced lager.

It’s a pity that there hasn’t been similar urgency in getting people to exercise parts of their bodies other than their drinking arms. We haven’t seen the last of SARS-type infections and our resilience will be greater if we are fitter and healthier. Some have suggested draconian “negative incentivisation”, placing the obese and those with smoking and alcohol related conditions at the back of the queue for medical treatment. While that would be morally and probably legally questionable, action is required to address the obesity epidemic that is as threatening for the NHS as Covid. Instead of encouraging us to Eat Out to Help Out, how about incentives to Get Out to Work Out?

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