COVID-19 making its presence known in the United Kingdom

BY MKUU AMANI

Societies across the globe are feeling the impact of COVID-19.

The UK is no different. Major institutions and organizations are taking steps to limit the risk of spreading the virus.

COVID-19 has grabbed the attention of the country’s media. One major company has created a Coronavirus UK tracker updated daily with figures provided by the Department for Health and Social Care.

According to the information it provides, to date, there are 798 confirmed cases of coronavirus in the UK. Sadly, there have also been 11 deaths.

Despite the efforts of the UK Government to inform the public, there is still a sense of confusion in UK society. How do you self isolate as a single parent, wife, husband, care provider or someone who needs care from others? To shake hands or not to shake hands – how do we greet or congratulate each other? Why has the US suspended all flights from Europe but not the UK? Is it safer to be with others in the open air than in enclosed spaces?

It seems, at this point, that there are more questions than answers.

Some organizations have decided to leave nothing to chance. There will be no Premier League football until April, no London Marathon until October and, for the foreseeable future, no further fixtures played in the Six Nations Rugby tournament.

Similarly, the St Patrick’s Day Parade, scheduled to take place in London on March 15th, is cancelled.

They won’t be the only annual events impacted, especially if the government decides to ban mass gatherings.

In a recent interview, the UK’s Chief Scientific Adviser Sir Patrick Vallance told Sky News that probably about 60% or so of the UK population will need to contract the virus for herd immunity to build up in the UK.

That’s an awful lot of infections and sadly – potentially a lot of fatalities.

In the absence of a vaccine, herd immunity may turn out to be societies’ most effective response to the disease.

With this in mind, it’s clear that the virus, now that it’s here, may well be here to stay.