Coronavirus: Don’t have to have virus to be a victim

As the number of people let go by their employer grows at a frightening rate, the queues at Centrelink stretch for hundreds of metres. Picture: Sam Ruttyn

The unthinkable has become the norm. We are all prisoners in our own home. That means you don’t have to have the virus to be a victim of it. A visit to the shops is fraught with danger. Every shopper is wondering whether the person next to them has been obeying the protocols developed to hinder the spread of the disease. Live entertainment is no more. Despite the revolution in communication that comes with computers, tablets, smart watches and the like, we have reverted to living behind closed doors. The mobile phone is now our main connection with the outside world and each other.

This disease is unaware of your social status and cares little about titles and position. When the Prime Minister of Great Britain and at least one member of the royal family announce they have the virus, there is proof that no matter how cosseted and comfortable you might be, you can’t guarantee immunity for anyone. If I can be selfish for a moment, I wonder how I will handle being stuck at home for what may prove to be a considerable period without cricket and football to watch on TV. As my colleague on Sky News, the brilliant Rowan Dean, has suggested, I will have to do more reading.

As the number of people let go by their employer grows at a frightening rate, the queues at Centrelink stretch for hundreds of metres, snaking along footpaths and going around corners. These scenes seem eerily similar to the historical newsreels we have all seen about the Depression. We did not think it could ever happen to us. The modern world will not wish to be characterised in history as the society beaten by a bug but if we are not beaten yet we have still taken a pounding. Until we are out of the woods the bizarre practice of social distancing will continue as we strive to stay healthy.

Travelling the world is so common now that children don’t have to sit through slide nights of an earnest uncle’s world jaunts. The problem that brings with it is to make the spread of this virus so easy. It is not uncommon for whole families to embark on trips abroad and if one gets sick, they all get sick. It would be a brave, or perhaps stupid, parent who would take their family overseas in this age of danger. Australians are so fortunate to have so many wonders on their doorsteps. The array of domestic holidays available is so vast that it is a pleasure to have vacations at home.

The rules that govern our behaviour are being rewritten thanks to COVID 19. Those rules will not last forever and we can endure them for a while yet. Respect and common decency are what is required and they should not be too difficult to manage.