Crisis may change our lives forever

■ Steps are being undertaken to mitigate the impact of the pandemic by the Government, including a package worth £330billion to help businesses. This is welcome but will life go on as before in the years to come?

World economies may be forced to transform, just as coronavirus may mutate. We may be unable to attend the workplace for some time. Worse still, there may not be jobs available to support the population through no fault of their own. What happens then? Starvation, homelessness?

At the moment countries are operating differently in accordance to their needs but imagine if they all worked together. In HG Wells’ The War of the Worlds, a common cold killed hostile aliens – now it seems a germ is threatening our global financial institutions.

Bill Cook, Teignmouth, Devon

■ Those who voted for Boris Johnson must surely want him to do a lot more for the people during the pandemic.

Would it be too much to ask that more widespread testing was carried out so an accurate picture could be built up of where help is most needed?

All postal workers and delivery drivers should be checked too but, most importantly, Johnson should listen and respond to the ordinary people of this country and provide more financial reassurance for those who are worried about their jobs and families.

Reg Barrett Southminster, Essex

■ After the financial crash of 2008, caused by the banks, wouldn’t it help their image and restore some faith in them if they actively supported the people in this country during this latest crisis?

They should provide support rather than creating obstacles for people to navigate, and look at the situation not as a way of making more profit but instead helping people so that they can move forward when we eventually come out the other side.

Barry Foster, Wigan

■ As the Chancellor announced his new measures to help the economy during the coronavirus pandemic, isn’t it about time the Government cancelled HS2 and gave the billions of pounds to the NHS and businesses which will go bust in this national emergency?

I’m sure the people with this illness aren’t worried about getting to London a few minutes earlier but they are concerned whether their loved ones live or die because the NHS is short of staff and vital equipment.

M Bell, Newcastle upon Tyne

■ Chancellor Rishi Sunak pledged a £330billion package to combat the coronavirus outbreak but this is in the form of business loans. What about something for each and every one of us – the workers, the benefit claimants or the selfemployed who are going to be hit hard by this crisis?

AS Smith, March, Cambs

■ It’s about time we suspended the billions we are investing on HS2 and put that money into businesses that are failing due to the coronavirus. Some of these firms will close with the loss of thousands of jobs and may never recover. We have to take care of the present because we don’t know what the future will be.

Craig Jarrett, Morley, West Yorks

■ This crisis and the Government’s response to it is revealing the inequality in this country even more starkly. Surely, if ever there was a case for the introduction of Universal Basic Income this is it? It will take years for the economy to recover from this and some people may never get their jobs back. Stephen Pitt, Manchester