I’ve attempted to maintain a kind of level head when it comes to the Coronavirus that’s sweeping the planet right now. I’ve focused on the stats and how it compares to other communicable diseases, to put it in context.
But, inevitably, the panicky reporting and sensational press coverage has seeped into my brain and made itself known in my dreams. For the last three nights, I’ve had dreams that featured the virus in one shape or another. Either it manifested as some kind of visible stain on people’s hands, or it meant I couldn’t leave my apartment, or I had it and was in the strangest of hospitals getting treatment.
None of these were particularly pleasant, as you can imagine.
I’m considering avoiding the news for a few days, just to give my mind a rest. With a trip to Tokyo planned for just a couple of weeks from now, I need to weigh up the risks and make a decision pretty soon. But from a day to day perspective here in London, life has to go on – albeit with sensible hand-washing precautions.
Incidentally, I can’t be the only person who is shocked and revolted at how hand-washing has had to be explained on TV. While panic-buying has already started here – anti-bacterial gel is as rare as gold dust – I’m working hard to put all of this into context and keep going.
I turned down my first handshake yesterday (the guy had been eating) and instead we traded elbow-bumps. It was both funny and sad at the same time. With all of these changes, cancelations of major events and replanning of travel, I wonder how much will stick and have an enduring impact on our culture…
How much does this virus feature in your daily routine? What are you doing that you’ve not done before? Or stopped doing, to try and avoid getting sick?
(Photo by Rémi Walle on Unsplash)
MacPsych on the move 
It is *so* the flavour of the month right now, isn’t it? It’s the same as this new process of naming storms and colour-coding warnings for inclement weather. Organisations feel they have to be seen to be “actively managing” whatever bit of the sky is falling down this week, so there’s briefings, announcements, conferences. Media consumes this as food, excretes flap & spin, which Joe Public (bless him) feasts upon. And now that Joe is his own social-media broadcaster, things gain way more traction than ever before. Coronavirus is exactly the same. How many Europeans die from influenza each year? 40,000, or about 4.5 people every single our of every single day. Diabetes? 13 Europeans every hour. Smoking; about 79 Europeans, every hour. And that’s just one continent. Where’s all the flap for that? Why isn’t every day Code Red for smokers? Because we’re used to it, and Coronavirus is just another bit of falling sky that all of us Chicken Lickens are going to forget about in about 2 months. Well, either that or it *is* Armageddon, and 28 days later…
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