Damn Samuel, back at it again with the coronavirus! (Milennial reference right there.)

This coming week, if we look at comparative data from other countries, is going to be the worst yet for the spread of this horrible disease. That means that more people will be unwell, possibly without knowing as they won’t be showing symptoms. They will go outside, mingle with others and spread it further. This, in a nutshell, is the entire problem that we are facing. Selfish people, those who refuse to adhere to the advice of staying at home and observing social distancing, are going to cause people to become ill, and possibly die.

That is a fact. People will die. These deaths will be the result of selfishness.

Too many people are part of the problem rather than the solution; lives are at stake, and there are far too many people treating this like a holiday. Schools have not closed to allow an extra family trip to the lakes, being off sick is not an excuse to take a trip to the seaside; this is a global pandemic people! We all have a moral duty to do the best we can to just keep away from other people.

As humans, we are naturally sociable animals, and so this is never going to be easy. My heart truly does go out to those people that are being asked to self-isolate for 12 weeks, as that is a bloody long time. Whilst I was in hospital and had C-Diff, I was in isolation for 3 weeks, and that was bad enough. Granted at least self-isolation is in your own home, but that is still a huge ask of people. However, and I don’t say this lightly, I believe it is the right thing to do. Just today, I got a text from one of my friends saying he had been sent home from work with a cough. it may seem trivial, but he has been told that even coughing three times an hour is enough for it to be classed as a symptom, and so I am totally in agreement that he needs to isolate. Thankfully he is a very good guy, and will play by the rules, but far too many others in the same position simply won’t, or even simply don’t.

In the next half hour, PM Boris Johnson is due to make a further announcement, and the rumour mill is rife with the belief that we will be put on a total lockdown. Who knows, maybe that is a good thing? With so many shops taking responsibility and closing or massively scaling back their operations we are already massively confined in our choices, and by taking the incentive away from people to be in public spaces hopefully we will see a fast reduction in the transmission of the virus.

1. Stay at home
2. Wash your hands
3. Only go out when 100% necessary, and even then go alone
4. When in public, maintain a minimum 2m distance
5. Think of others when buying; we all need the same things, and there is enough to go around if we all play our part

Those are the main points that we are being told, and yet so many people are failing to do such simple things. Maybe this possible lockdown will be a wake up call, and finally people will take this seriously.