I can’t help but to think that we are heading into a maelstrom of chaos and disorder as people start to twig that this coronavirus is actually quite serious. My feeling is that the government’s laissez faire attitude so far has stoked the panic that some people are feeling. I fear it is also having the reverse act with many other people, who don’t seem to think this virus is very serious at all.
I am no expert at medical science and rely instead on those who are. Today, I witnessed our part time prime minister Boris Johnson conduct a press conference, flanked by Prof Chris Whitty, the government’s chief medical adviser, and Sir Patrick Vallance, the government’s chief scientific adviser. This crisis has reminded politicians and the public that, contrary to what we have been told in recent years, we need experts. Johnson’s bumbling clown act might have drawn the crowds when he was touring the country lying to the public about Brexit but it has lost its sheen now. I’d much rather have one of Messrs Whitty or Vallance running the country right instead of Johnson.
Somewhere between those who are on one side stocking up on toilet rolls and pasta and those on another who think that coronavirus is no worse than winter flu is a large body of people, like me, who think this is all going to end in tears, especially when people they know or are related to start dying. If the overreaction in supermarkets is rife when things are relatively under control, what happens when we become like Italy and go completely into lockdown? I suspect door staff will be in great demand when that happens.
My guess is that the sheer gravity of the situation will only sink in when schools start closing, when sporting events in the UK are postponed or played behind closed doors, when whole areas are quarantined, when the NHS gets completely overwhelmed, when flights are grounded, when pop festivals are cancelled, when people are sent home, with or without pay. And what happens to those who will not be entitled to Statutory Sick Pay, let alone get paid? This could all happen, this is all likely to happen. People who say ‘Don’t panic!’ are usually the people who have sufficient resources to not panic.
Tragically, at the moment we have arguably the worst and most inept set of ministers in our lifetime, as well as a hopelessly dysfunctional opposition led by a lame duck loser for the next month, maybe longer if coronavirus has a say in that, too. A country in crisis with no leadership. That’s not exactly a good combination, is it?
I’m worried, really worried. People in my extended family are particularly at risk from coronavirus and I’d imagine your family is no different. It is very serious and I know we shouldn’t panic, but who is leading the country, really leading it; someone like Johnson’s hero Winston Churchill would be handy to have around, or even Gordon Brown (my current choice of fantasy prime minister in a crisis).
This feels like the calm before the storm. And the storm could overwhelm this country in a way that Hitler never could.
