And we were doing so well

Now look at us. This week the Maltese Islands recorded no fewer than over 100 new COVID-19 cases!

And the thing that struck me about this leap in infections was the fact that the vast majority of new cases were in their 20s, 30s and 40s. So much for this being predominantly an old people’s disease!

Oh sure it’s going to hit geriatrics with underlying conditions like cardio vascular complaints, diabetes, emphysema, etc… much harder than someone in their mid-30s who neither smokes nor requires life-prolonging medication. And

I acknowledge that some care homes are absolute hotbeds of the virus. But what this appalling new set of figures does illuminate is just how careful we must all be.

I thought of when our illustrious Prime Minister announced some time back that the pandemic in Malta was over: “Go out, spend money and enjoy yourselves.” He was being a bit previous and these numbers prove it. However, in defence of Bobby, this insidious virus has presented governments all over the world with a unique dilemma. So most are coping with it by doing whatever they have been advised to do by their scientists (all except Trump of course – it seems that he is an expert in just about everything… ahem). And these scientists, even the extremely eminent ones, are dealing with so many unknowns, so how can they be sure if they are handling it correctly? In other words most administrations are simply winging it and hoping for the best.

Nothing about this virus, this pandemic is cast in stone. Everything about it is nebulous, unknown. For instance: when it first surfaced we were told that the elderly were the most liable to contract COVID-19 and die; young people were pretty well immune… ha! Tell that to Brian. He is the son of Mike, one of my work colleagues. Brian lives with his girlfriend in a flat in

Msida and has apparently achieved the impossible feat of catching COVID-19, at the ridiculously young age of 26.

Mike lugubriously informed me that back in April sometime, Brian informed his father that he (Mike) had better be careful, since it was a fact that only decrepit geriatrics were in danger of contracting COVID. Believing himself to be perfectly safe, Brian did what the PM had told him to do; he went out and partied… and partied and partied.

Result: Two weeks quarantine, then a further two weeks (so far) with a hacking cough and a complete absence of taste and smell. And the silly little bugger is still refusing to isolate himself and stay indoors.

So far his girlfriend has not contracted the disease but Brian’s dad thinks it’s only a matter of time before she does. To say that Brian and his girlfriend are in denial is akin to stating the bleeding obvious fact that our current government is – and has been – less than as pure as the driven snow.

In fairness to Brian, he is staying away from his parents and Mike hasn’t been in his son’s company since before he fell ill. But I am still puzzling about what motivates an apparently educated 26-year-old male to follow the advice of a 40-something non-medically qualified politician over that of an expert in the study of viruses…