Three years on from my last post and I feel the need to be back. Why? It’s because the world is facing its biggest crisis in several generations. Whatever the end result, it is likely to affect the way we think of our own longevity and our attitudes to others in the future.
Since I last posted we have a new government in the UK, and Brexit has finally happened. However, both of those events which have occupied our minds over the last four years have been overshadowed by a Coronavirus known as Covid-19
Ironically, our leaving Europe has become final at a time when we most need the support and collective ideas and science knowledge of our closest neighbours.
Covid-19 is demonstrating that our government’s promise of ‘taking back control’ with protected borders provides no barrier to this insidious virus. The death toll across the world has been almost incomprehensible in an age where it cannot be directly attributable to a war.
The reality, however, is that we are at war – a new kind of war. We are not fighting a physical form we can see and understand; we are battling with an invisible enemy that permeates the very air we breathe.
There are many theories how this epidemic started but blame is meaningless when we should be concentrating all our efforts in getting through the next few months. Facts are scarce and advice from ‘experts’ changes by the hour.
One thing seemingly clear is we should self-isolate. The elderly or those with underlying health problems have been instructed by government ministers they should not go out for the next three months.
Our government seems to give selective, but often seemingly random ‘scientific’ advice, on a daily basis while it struggles to suppress a rising death rate. At the same time, many of us ‘citizens’ are still failing to take the risks seriously or are simply ignoring them altogether.
Inevitably, we are seeing the best and the worst of human nature.
Many of us are likely to be suffering from confusion and shock about the virus itself and how we can change our daily lives to make it through these strange times. How will we cope with self-isolation and the closure of shops and leisure facilities? What are we supposed to do if we are feeling ill and if we are, how do we know if it is coronavirus or just a mild dose of the flue?
One sensible piece of advice seems to be if you have to go out, keep a MINIMUM of two metres from others and wear a mask.
Most importantly…don’t take unnecessary risks!