Virus means tough summer looms.

The stretch limo flashed by the old stone buildings. The hordes of tourists, despite the historic views trying to distract them, turned to look.

The group of young women were hard to miss. Half of them were standing, waisthigh in the open sun roof win- dow, waving and shouting.

“Bridal shower,” I said knowingly.

Beautiful Wife rolled her eyes.

“Bachelorette party,” she corrected.

“There’s a difference?”

More eye rolling.

Minutes later, the women danced onto the Charles Bridge.

There they formed a circle, well most of a circle, the party had been going on for awhile and geometric shapes were rapidly becoming more than they could manage.

First, there were smiles. Then a few people, then a sizeable part of the sizeable crowd joined in.

Dancing on the Charles Bridge on a warm evening in Prague, the capital of the Czech Republic. A fond memory from a summer vacation in Europe.

It’s unlikely there will be much in the way of crowds in the old city this year. Empty streets, hotels, restaurants and AirBNBs are more likely.

Thank you, coronavirus disease 2019, COVID-19 for short. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says, “CO stands for corona, VI for virus, and D for disease.”

Scientists really do suck at coming up with cool names.

The symptoms sound familiar: cough, fever, shortness of breath. That last one is an attention-getter. So is the up to 14 days it takes between exposure and coming down with the disease.

The other attention-getter is the uncertainty over how deadly it is.

The flu kills about 0.1 per cent of those who get it, says the director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases in the U.S. One in a thousand.

It killed about 80,000 Americans in the winter of 2017-2018. The Ontario government estimates about 12,200 Canadians get it each year. And 3,500 die.

COVID-19’s fatality rate is unclear because no one knows how many have it compared to the number who have died so far. Most people get a mild case, say nothing, get over it and move on.

Stats released by Johns Hopkins, a private research university not known for being excitable, suggests the rate may be as high as 6.9 per cent. But the lack of useful numbers means the number is likely much lower.

We won’t know until months – or years – after this thing burns out.

That explains why the NBA has put its professional basketball season on hold.

It explains why the NHL just iced its hockey season for now.

And it means an immediate future of uncertainty here. P.E.I.’s tourism industry is crucial to the local economy. The make-money-while-thesun-shines time is fast approaching.

European cities like Prague are a lot like Cavendish, only older. The Charles Bridge, the dance floor for the bride-tobe, was built starting in 1357 and took about 150 years to finish.

Still, I’m betting in the offseason it’s about as lively as Cavendish when Anne goes to bed in the fall. OK, Cavendish powers down to one flashing yellow light. Prague’s bigger than that.

But the problems facing workers, business owners, and governments will be the same. This could be a very difficult summer.

And no one will be dancing for joy until this disease passes us by.