Coronavirus: Living In A Surreal World

We are in this for the long haul. Look after your mental health

It’s social distancing time. Source: Pexels

Over the last week, the world has woken up to the reality of a global pandemic. What was once a vague hypothetical — what would you do if they closed all the schools? — is now reality for people in all corners of the world as COVID-19 spreads. Schools are closing, people are being forced to stay at home, epidemiologists like me have gone from being unknown weirdos sitting in front of spreadsheets to some of the most listened to people on the face of the earth*.

Unfortunately there are still no stock photos for “epidemiologist”, but imagine this except less bright and sunny and with more screens Source: Pexels

The message for most countries has gone from “don’t worry everything will be fine” to “stay at home and don’t get sick”. And while I’ve already published tips for coronavirus prevention — social distancing people! — there’s really no way to prepare for something that hasn’t happened in the lifetimes of most people on thie Earth.

And yet, life goes on. The birds sing, the flowers bloom, and somehow we all have to cope. We wake up to another day, and instead of getting on the train or in a car, we sit in front of a desk at home and frantically refresh twitter while our fur-babies or real babies create…