April 2020 Monthly Blog – Coronavirus
I have spent the early part of this year reflecting on parallels with my parents’ generation.
Toward the end of the 1930’s, my parents (and perhaps your grandparents) were casting apprehensive eyes at the storm clouds gathering, and wondering whether their respective countries would be fortunate enough to escape dark forces on the horizon, or descend into turmoil.
Well turmoil has arrived this year in the form of COVID-19, the respiratory disease caused by coronavirus. This is a family of viruses that causes disease usually in animals. Seven however, including the new virus, have made the jump to humans.
Whereas some sufferers show few if any symptoms, others – especially the sick or elderly – may become extremely ill. We are told that up to 80% of all humans may become infected.
The mortality rate amongst those infected could be somewhere around the 3% mark (though estimates vary widely depending on age of population and access to effective testing and healthcare). “You do the maths” of how many deaths this might translate to in each country.
Already the finger-pointing and conspiracy theories have started about precisely how, why, and where the virus started infecting humans. At one of the spectrum, some commentators dismissed COVID-19 as “just another” influenza that most humans would acquire immunity to.
Modelling the spread of pandemics is notoriously difficult, but when highly-regarded (and impartial) infectious disease experts started predicting millions of possible deaths worldwide (including more than half a million in the UK) it became clear that governments had to mobilise.
We have therefore witnessed unparalleled in our time an astonishing range of restrictions on daily lives – with all the economic consequences of millions of people being unable to perform their normal work.
Projected growth in the UK economy of 1% during 2020 is likely to turn into a contraction that might even extend into double digits. Health care services are strained close to breaking point by a double-whammy of massive influxes of patients and shortages of staff who themselves have had to go into self-isolation.
There are occasional glimmers of hope that the measures are working when we see a country “flattening the curve” – i.e. slowing the rate of infections to a manageable rate..
It’s too soon to say when restrictions might be lifted or to be certain that the virus won’t return with a vengeance. It is spread by droplets when a person coughs or sneezes. The droplets land on surfaces from which they are picked up on peoples’ hands and spread further. People catch the virus when they touch their infected hands to their mouth, nose or eyes.
It follows that the single most important thing you can do to protect yourself is keep your hands clean by washing them frequently with soap and water or a hand sanitising gel – and practising “social distancing”.
My parents’ generation faced their fate with stoicism, humour and a determination to prevail.
We shall do the same. Unusually for one of my blogs, I have no special tips to recommend beyond those already in the public domain.
I would however strongly recommend using the extensive resources Arinite has created on its COVID-19 webpage.
Throughout the pandemic, for the Arinite COVID website page on a daily basis in red text we are showing the for last 24 hours changes in COVID advice and providing FAQ’s, advice and guidance such as:
Contact us
If you have any questions regarding COVID-19 that you feel we may able to help with please do not hesitate in making contact, please call our office 0207 947 9581, or type an enquiry to:
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