My corona cure: it’s time to lock down the grandparents

My niece was due to visit her grandmother this week. As she’s currently studying in Belgium, it would take her two long, germ-ridden coach journeys to reach South Wales. My mum, who was hugely looking forward to seeing her beloved granddaughter, said she didn’t care about the risk. The rest of the family begged to differ. The thought of the young woman infecting the old one – the former in the lowest-risk group, the latter in the highest – was too awful to contemplate. The visit was postponed.

Was that an overreaction to what is still a tiny risk or a sensible precaution? All across the country, a million similar corona calculations are being made every hour.

Do you carry on as planned with that Easter holiday in Spain and run the risk of not being able to get back? Do you cancel spring weddings or trips to sporting or music events? Should you visit elderly friends and relatives before “social distancing” begins?

Amid all the hysterical headlines, I reckon the one truly sensible thing to do right now would be for those over 70 (and those with lung conditions and compromised immune systems) to stay home as much as they possibly can. This virus is dangerous for elderly people. Nineteen of the United States’s coronavirus deaths were at the Life Care Centre nursing home in Washington state.

Poor Italy, the country with the second-oldest population in the world (Japan comes first), may have been hit so badly precisely because it has such a high percentage of elderly people. There are distressing rumours that Italian doctors are having to ration care, giving scarce ventilation only to younger patients, who have a better chance of survival.

We should do everything in our power to prevent that happening here. Be practical, don’t panic. I sent my mum some excellent Cook frozen meals so she can reduce the number of times she has to go to the shops, but it’s no substitute for a chatty, cuddly granddaughter. That’s a great pity, of course, but the alternative might be far worse.

At a time when the young could kill the old, hold those cuddles. Our priority has to be protecting grandma (and grandpa).