The
world
in
the
21st
century
is
a
global
village
,
and
just
how
closely
we
live
within
it
has
become
dramatically
clear
from
coronavirus
:
this
virus
does
not
respect
any
borders
.
As
the
sweeps
from
country
to
country
,
and
healthcare
systems
and
governments
grapple
to
overcome
it
,
the
language
used
to
describe
what
is
happening
is
evolving
.
There
are
not
so
much
new
words
as
new
usages
and
combinations
of
words
which
,
were
it
not
for
the
fact
that
this
concerns
everyone
,
would
just
be
medical
or
official
jargon
.
At
the
time
of
writing
this
blog
?
and
the
situation
is
changing
radically
day
by
day
?
the
UK
government
is
advocating
social
distancing
*
,
and
everyone
is
either
considering
self
-
*
or
knows
someone
who
is
.
We
have
moved
beyond
the
point
where
frequent
20
-
second
hand
-
washing
or
use
of
hand
gel
,
and
replacement
of
handshakes
,
hugs
and
kisses
by
the
Ebola
handshake
*
are
sufficient
measures
to
stop
the
of
the
virus
.
Anyone
with
the
symptoms
of
a
fever
and
/
or
a
persistent
cough
has
been
told
to
themselves
for
14
days
.
People
over
70
or
with
underlying
health
conditions
are
particularly
vulnerable
to
the
virus
.
Everyone
is
being
urged
to
work
at
home
if
possible
.
Of
course
,
this
does
not
include
those
in
services
?
doctors
,
nurses
,
transport
workers
,
food
manufacturers
and
outlets
.
Coronavirus
emerged
in
China
,
but
it
still
is
not
clear
who
patient
zero
*
was
and
when
they
were
infected
?
in
November
or
earlier
.
The
world
watched
in
horror
as
the
number
of
confirmed
cases
and
in
China
rose
rapidly
.
Since
then
,
what
was
an
epidemic
has
turned
into
a
pandemic
,
and
Europe
has
become
its
epicentre
.
Each
country
is
taking
measures
to
try
and
contain
the
virus
.
Several
have
gone
into
complete
lockdown
.
The
British
Government
announced
a
four
-
phase
programme
of
:
contain
,
delay
,
research
and
mitigate
.
It
held
off
calling
for
social
initially
,
partly
as
it
was
concerned
with
building
herd
immunity
*
in
the
British
population
.
However
,
the
government
quickly
changed
tack
after
much
criticism
and
comparison
with
more
radical
measures
being
taken
elsewhere
in
Europe
.
Mass
gatherings
have
already
been
stopped
,
and
at
this
point
it
looks
like
only
a
matter
of
days
before
we
see
the
of
schools
and
universities
.
GPs
have
begun
to
hold
remote
consultations
,
by
Skype
and
so
on
.
To
what
extent
the
UK
?
like
Italy
,
and
China
before
it
?
will
be
playing
catch
-
up
from
acting
too
slowly
remains
to
be
seen
.
In
the
early
days
of
the
virus
,
it
emerged
in
clusters
or
hotspots
,
but
now
has
spread
more
widely
through
the
population
.
Contact
-
remains
vital
to
stopping
the
spread
.
Buildings
where
people
with
the
virus
have
been
are
deep
-
cleaned
*
before
normal
use
can
resume
.
The
economic
effects
of
the
pandemic
are
enormous
.
Stock
markets
have
crashed
;
shares
have
.
There
are
fears
of
a
global
recession
.
More
immediately
,
people
have
started
panicbuying
*
,
various
goods
.
There
has
been
such
a
run
on
items
such
as
toilet
paper
in
some
places
that
supermarket
shelves
have
been
left
bare
.
Some
countries
have
placed
blanket
bans
on
flights
from
certain
countries
.
The
footfall
in
restaurants
,
etc
.
has
fallen
in
the
space
of
a
few
days
.
All
kinds
of
businesses
,
particularly
in
the
entertainment
sphere
,
are
in
danger
of
going
bust
?
and
that
would
mean
a
loss
of
jobs
.
There
are
new
business
opportunities
,
though
,
for
companies
that
are
capable
of
manufacturing
ventilators
,
masks
and
other
medical
equipment
in
shortage
,
and
for
delivery
services
.
People
can
be
tested
for
the
virus
with
a
.
A
new
and
faster
testing
kit
is
about
to
go
onto
the
market
,
which
could
play
an
important
part
in
identifying
those
who
are
infected
but
show
no
symptoms
(
=
are
asymptomatic
)
,
and
thus
slow
down
the
spread
even
more
.
It
could
be
another
year
or
so
before
scientists
create
a
against
Coronavirus
.
In
the
meantime
,
there
are
fears
that
the
virus
could
mutate
.
In
times
of
crisis
,
we
see
the
worst
but
also
the
best
in
our
fellow
humans
.
One
big
positive
of
this
global
village
of
ours
is
that
we
now
know
so
much
about
each
other
?
and
care
more
about
each
other
too
.
We
are
all
in
this
together
.
Cutting
ourselves
off
to
protect
ourselves
has
brought
forth
masses
of
humour
and
ingenuity
in
ways
to
keep
each
other's
spirits
up
,
and
underlines
what
social
creatures
we
are
.
I'm
sure
we'll
all
be
,
though
,
when
we
can
go
back
to
being
that
big
global
village
again
.
Crear