Sunday 22 March:

It seems to me as if the population divides into two distinctly separate camps: a) those who are taking all the warnings and recommendations totally seriously and adjusting their routines and lives accordingly (the government is stressing the need for ‘social distancing’ and to ‘stay at home if at all possible’… and tonight emphasising that the vulnerable should definitely ‘stay at home’)(who ARE the vulnerable?) and b) those who think it’s all ‘over-the-top’ and seem determined to continue much as before. Not having been into town for several days now, it’s difficult to get a clear picture but, certainly, the supermarkets seem to be overrun by queuing customers and panic-buying/hoarding seems widespread. The irony is that the more supermarket staff have to work in such circumstances, the more of them end up having to take time off work as a precaution, due to showing some of the early virus symptoms. The supermarkets themselves are desperately trying to recruit extra staff to ensure shelves are fully stocked (or as well stocked as availability allows)… and so the cycle continues. The incredibly hard-pressed NHS is suffering similar problems. With the schools now having shut, another concern being frequently expressed is the difficulty parents are having in trying to keep their older children (teenagers) at home or at least ‘social distancing’ from their friends. Certainly, even if my limited observations (on my daily non-people walks), I’m very aware of groups of young people messing around together – which is obviously far from ideal.

Interesting comparisons have been posted on social media contrasting the numbers of coronavirus sufferers in Italy and the UK (the numbers show a very similar week-on-week increase – and, bearing in mind that Italy is perhaps three months ‘ahead’ of the UK, the number of weekly deaths there currently amounts to something like 450 – although I’ve also seen reports today of the current weekly numbers being 651 and, in the UK, 281)(see the image for an outdated illustration).

What seems absolutely certain is that, when we emerge from this awful business (I refuse say ‘if’!), things will be very different. Hopefully, people will have changed… they will have a new respect for the simple joys of life, for others, for nature, for kindness, for civility, for generosity of spirit, a more equal society and the like… and that greed, ruthlessness, dishonesty, profit et al… will be things of the past.

A pipedream perhaps… but I live in hope.