Fight against virus will challenge us all

THE UK Government’s decision to ratchet up the response to coronavirus is correct. Arguably it should have been taken before, but the important thing now is to do everything we can to contain this awful disease.

While the evidence shows that most people who contract it will not be put in danger, it poses a threat to older people, the very young and those with underlying health conditions.

The way it spread in China and Italy demonstrates how virulent it can be, with many people dying rapidly.

A virus of this kind, with no vaccine available to combat it, is a stark reminder that for all the remarkable advances in scientific and technological knowledge that we have witnessed, humanity remains vulnerable to the unexpected. Many of us will find it hard to adjust to the new lifestyle we are being asked to adopt.

Most of us are quite gregarious and want the company of others. Those of us with family around us are fortunate, but there is a dilemma involved in interacting with elderly relatives.

None of us wants to be responsible for infecting others, especially those close to us, with the virus. Yet absenting ourselves from the places where we usually congregate for social contact with others will not be easy, and many will find it challenging.

We need to remind ourselves that the purpose of self-isolation is to defeat the virus and ensure that we can return to normality before too long.

Our politicians and public health officials have a duty to keep us informed. We hope the UK Government has taken on board the criticism levelled at it after a favoured journalist was briefed about the self-isolation proposals for the over-70s.

Such a serious matter must be discussed openly and extensively at the earliest opportunity. The usual games that spin doctors play should be suspended.

After an extremely bitter time in British politics over Brexit, it is now right for all parties to work together in the national interest to defeat the coronavirus.

Both the UK and Welsh governments must be as open as they possibly can be as the crisis develops. Where there are grounds to criticise their performance, they must be held to account, but this must be to improve their handling of the issue rather than for political advantage.