Avoid panic as virus takes toll on society

Two confirmed coronavirus-related deaths in Scotland and the infection curve continues to rise inexorably. As a wheen of planned events are cancelled and major attractions including the landmark V&A Dundee design museum close their doors, Prime Minister Boris Johnson put his cabinet on a war footing.

First Minister Nicola Sturgeon was in similarly robust mood, with her language in her public pronouncements conveying the significance of the times.

If that message needed to be reinforced, the UK Government’s chief scientific adviser Sir Patrick Vallance stepped up to that plate.

His ball park estimate that currently there could be as many as 55,000 coronavirus cases in the UK – and that fewer than 20,000 deaths as a result of this outbreak in total would be a “good outcome, but still horrible” – was a sobering reminder of the seriousness of this situation.

The business community – already hard pressed following the Brexit uncertainty – is feeling the squeeze more than ever before.

The vast majority of companies within Tayside and Fife fall within the SME category, meaning they are relatively small concerns with limited resources at their disposal to deal with this type of all-consuming eventuality.

Some will go to the wall no matter what measures are put in place to protect the business community.

But others will find a way to struggle on, providing communities with vital goods and services at a time when they will be most required.

They will need – and deserve – long term support from the public purse if they are to survive and thrive.

Similarly, the NHS is under unprecedented stress right now. Every nurse, doctor, surgeon, consultant and public health specialist is under intense pressure and the state must do everything in its power to look after them.

But it mustn’t forget the army of administration staff, hospital porters, cleaners, cooks, volunteers and others whose contribution is just as vital, if not as obvious.

Life is changing but it is not stopping and, as we take the necessary precautions right now to protect our families and communities, it would be wise to remember that.

We must avoid panic and keep an eye on the long term and how society will look once this issue is behind us.