As at the time of writing, Tuesday, April 7, following 10 days in self isolation our prime minister, Boris Johnson is in a hospital bed in intensive care having contracted the deadly coronavirus, Covid-19. He is said to have been moved there as a precaution on the advice of his doctor and is not on assisted ventilation at this point.
In today’s post was this letter sent from 10 Downing Street to all households across the UK, signed by the prime minister, a letter which will go down in history as a stark reminder of the changes brought upon us and the whole world as a direct result of this killer virus.
The world has been turned upside down, populations are being subjected to immediate and necessary change in order that the virus is contained, the spread is controlled and the mortality rate kept as low as possible.
At first, the impression was that “those with existing underlying health conditions” and the elderly would be most at risk but the virus has since proven to be indiscriminate, taking the lives of babies, teenagers, fit and well middle aged men and women, the elderly and even more tragically our doctors, nurses and care workers who have made the ultimate sacrifice to save others.
In some respects there are parallels to be drawn between what we are all experiencing and what has gone before us historically, more recently two world wars when some neighbouring countries became enemies. Hopefully those dreadful times will never be repeated, we are all pulling together against one common enemy, the problem is, this time the enemy has the advantage of being invisible.
None of us know how or when this horror story will end and no matter what your political view point is I’m sure we all hope our prime minister has a speedy recovery at this hugely challenging time and that he will continue to lead our country through this pandemic, a job few could do and a role few would wish to even consider.
Image Credits: @PA , Nick Forman .