‘I’ve got more chance of catching the virus in London than in the Alps’

insurance; don’t go if local cases are accelerating fast; and don’t go if you’re unlikely to be able to access a good hospital with a critical care bed.

Beyond that, if your initial worry is going to fade and allow you to enjoy the trip, then go for it. But if you are likely to feel anxious throughout, then it’s better to stay at home.

In the end, they both went to India, and had a great time. That was three weeks ago, and although the virus is more widespread now (and the risk of contracting it higher), I’m not sure the advice would be very different today.

This week, they are in France at a conference in Paris, then visiting my hippy brother who lives in a converted goat shed in the Pyrenees. We applied the same red lines, subject only to recommending that they travel with hand sanitiser, paying particular attention to hygiene when handling things like airport security trays, a notorious breeding ground for many of the world’s germs. Shaking hands was also ruled out. I’ve not heard from them since they took off on Monday – which is probably a good sign.

For my own part, age 55 so nearing the danger range, broadly defined by the World Health Organisation as 60-plus, it’s also important to think about relative risk as the virus spreads. Would I, for instance, have more chance of catching the virus in London where I commute on the Tube to work in a busy newsroom than skiing in the increasingly quiet European Alps? Clearly, northern Italy isn’t a good idea, but in Switzerland, Austria,

Germany and Norway, the risk of contracting the virus is no higher than here, and hospitals in much of Europe have far more critical care beds per head of population than Britain does.

More broadly, my uncle of 88 broke his hip last week on a ski slope in Connecticut. He has skied virtually every day this season, and posts video clips on Facebook of himself doing ludicrous tricks. Skiing is obviously an extremely risky thing to do in your 80s, but he loves it. He’s had a new hip fitted, and thinks he might be out again before the end of the season. Not surprisingly, the coronavirus does not even register on his personal risk-ometer, and nor should it. More common risks greatly outweigh the coronavirus for most of us – heart disease, lung and bowel cancer, depression and road traffic accidents.

If the fresh air of the mountains does not tempt you, what about all those beaches going unpopulated around the world? Again, apply the red lines, and perhaps avoid small islands, which can quickly get quarantined. My friend Bruno who runs a surf camp on the west coast of Portugal, contacted me this week to ask where all the Britons were. The beaches were empty, he said, the waves amazing, and the Atlantic water a great cleanser for body and mind. It’s hard to disagree, and if it weren’t for this outbreak keeping me chained to my desk, I’d be out there like a shot. With four grubby schoolchildren at home, I’m pretty sure I would be safer there, virus-wise, than here in London.