You would be forgiven for thinking the whole world’s gone mad. Maybe it’s a side effect of the virus.
Firstly let me say that if your immune system is compromised then of course you should do all you can to avoid getting infected. But if your immune system is compromised that is already a way of life for you. You will already be taking steps to avoid the common flu and everything else that could potentially make you very ill and even worse.
If you have family members who are in that situation, and most of us do, then we are already mindful of not taking infections to them. If the kids have chicken pox you wouldn’t take them to see granny who is in and out of hospital.
Aside from taking that level of precaution we get on with life. Basic hygiene keeps most of us safe enough and if something gets past our personal hygiene regime then our immune system does its job. The reason it can do its job is that we have been exposed to the various viruses and have built up a natural immunity. How we can build up any sort of immunity if we avoid any level of exposure I don’t know.
We have all seen the panic buying of everything from tins of beans to paracetamol to toilet roll. Paracetamol I can understand but beans? You don’t get the virus by being in the same huge building as someone else. When they start shutting tesco stores I’ll hold my hands up and say I was wrong.
Last week I witnessed a local Chinese family who were out for a walk being put through the embarrassment of the parents of 3 small children screaming at their kids to get away from the family. They were obviously upset. I did go up to them and try to explain that most people did not feel that way. I’m not sure they understood as they didn’t seem to speak much English despite living in the area for many years. At least I tried!
When ordering a Chinese takeaway this week I was told by the owner that their sales are significantly down. It’s to be hoped that this country never has to cope with the hardship that our grandparents and great grandparents went through in the World Wars. This generation’s coping skills and common sense levels would be of less protection that a cheap face mask.
The ATP have announced today that all tournaments are cancelled until the end of April. A 6 week period. I can’t find a similar statement from the WTA although tournaments in China have been cancelled for next month.
I would think that the Challenger Tour will be largely unaffected as they already practically play their matches to empty stadiums and cancelling their matches would have a huge effect on the lower ranked players’ finances. It’s ok for the likes of Novak Djokovic and Rafa Nadal to agree and encourage an extended break with their millions sitting in the bank.
So keep washing your hands people. Soap and water is more than enough. Don’t get stressed because they have run out of hand sanitise. Would you stop wiping your arse if they run out of bog roll?
Ah crap I just sneezed on my laptop. I’m off to burn it.
