We have to accept some questions don’t have answers yet

These days, when we have a question, we are usually a few seconds away from an answer. A quick internet search can uncover hundreds, if not thousands, of verifiable information and gaps in our knowledge are promptly filled.

But, as it is pointed out to us every day, these are not usual times. And, while it is natural to want answers, when it comes to Covid-19, we must accept that quick and easy information simply does not exist yet.

We are living through the biggest peacetime crisis and the experts informing government organisations across the world are, to put it bluntly, making highly educated guesses. Every strategy, each move, is all an experiment in the hope that we will arrive at something that will help pull us out of this.

In the initial conversations about Covid19, the virus was regarded as a souped-up flu that only affected the elderly and immunocompromised. We soon learned coronavirus does not necessarily spare those with youth and a clean bill of health on their side.

Of course we are desperate to know when this will be over; when we can embrace our loved ones and raise a glass with our friends. When we can stop second-guessing trips to the supermarket and walk in a crowded park without fear of aiding the transmission of a killer disease.

And so we are locked inside, glued to rolling news coverage; studying graphs and charts we do not fully understand for any sign that the curve is flattening. We look at Spain and Italy, knowing that we have not yet felt the full impact of the virus on our nation, but not knowing exactly when that peak will come.

Misinformation is one thing. Bogus claims about everything from cures for the virus to its origin are doing the rounds online, spurred on through social media chain mail. But the biggest stresser is not sifting through the nonsense, it is the lack of definitive answers.

There is plenty to question, and even more to criticise, but the lack of concrete information is unsettling in a way that we are not used to. When the stakes are so high, of course we are scrambling for every scrap of knowledge, dissatisfied with the reality that all we really have are smart people working around the clock to make sense of it all.

But, if you are staying inside and washing your hands, you are doing enough. If you are checking in with neighbours, you are doing all you can.

It does not feel like enough, I know it doesn’t, but hang in there. We are in the dark now, but we won’t be forever.