20 NEWS Talking points
THEWEEK 21 March 2020
“Visitstothepub.Anevening’s
fiveasideaftertheoffice.Workat
theofficeitself.Poppingroundto
grannyandgrandpa.Somehowit
isthecancellationofthemundane
thatcutsthrough,”saidHarryde
QuettevilleinTheDailyTelegraph.
Exoticholidaysarebeingputon
hold,butwe’reusedtoglitcheswith
long-distancetravel.Theordinaryis
“amoredramaticcasualty”.Nomore
outingstothemuseum.“Nomore
cinemaexcursionstoliftthespiritson
awetTuesday.Nomoremunicipal
swimmingbaths.Nomore–howdid
thePMputit?–‘non-essentialcontact
withothers’.Inthatonetechnicalphrase,inthatblinkofaneye,
allourliveschanged.”
“Thescenethatplaysinmyheadat4amissomeoneIlovedying
whilequarantinedinhospital,”saidJaniceTurnerinTheTimes,
“thelastthingtheyseeastranger’seyesbehind ahazmatmask.
Nogoodbyes,nohandtohold.Bleak,Iknow.Apologies.Butitis
astonishinghow swiftlyourfocushasturnedfrom lavatoryrolls
to death tolls.”It nowseemsclearthatwhatever happensnext,
thousandswilldie.Butasweheadintothisunchartedterritory,it
isnotonlydeathwehavetofear,but
thedamage toourownpsyches.All
over theworld,peoplearegoinginto
lockdown,saidAbdullahShihiparin
TheNewYork Times. The shutteringof
offices, theclosureoftheatres andcafés,
arekeycontainmentstrategies,butthey
havemore thaneconomiccosts.Feelingsofisolationmay increase
therisk ofdepression and heartdisease; they canalsoweakenthe
immunesystem. Forsolutions,weshould look tolocked-down
areasofChina,where peoplehavebeenstreamingconcerts and
gym classes,and joiningvirtualbookclubs.
As more andmorepeopleare confined to theirhomes,we can
expectahugeincreasein “screentime”, saidJamesTitcombin
TheDailyTelegraph. Last week,TelecomItaliareporteda70%
increaseininternet traffic, largelyasaresult ofteenagers meeting
theirfriends,in avatarform,onvideo gamessuch asFortnite.
Now,office workers whohavedecampedtotheirhomes are
meetingin virtualconferencerooms; neighbourshavebeengetting
to know eachother ononlinecommunitygroups;andasthereal
lifepublicsquareshave closed,Twitterhasbecome their digital
equivalent. Thesearepositivedevelopments,but they may not be
sufficienttohelpBritain’s oldpeople,said Jo GlanvilleinThe
Guardian.Iunderstandwhyover-70s
aregoingtobetoldtoself-isolatefor
thenextthreemonths:theyarethe
mostvulnerabletoCovid-19,with
adeathrateof 8 %(jumpingto15%
inover-80s).Buthowaretheelderly
goingtocopewithisolation?Many
havecomplexmedicalneeds;others
arealreadylonely.Awalktothe
shopsmaybetheonlyhumancontact
theyhave.Besides,someover-70sare
stillinworkandperfectlyfit: why
shouldtheybedeniedtherighttobe
economicallyproductive?Thepolicy
ismisguidedanddivisive.Thefactis,“politiciansaroundtheworldarethrashingabout
wildly,tryingtodecide”howbesttotacklethiscrisis–butthey
don’tknow,saidSimonTisdallinthesamepaper.Somemay
emergefromthisdisasterwiththeirreputationsenhanced;for
others,“theoppositeistrue”.China’sPresidentXihasfaced
“unprecendentedcriticism”forhishandlingoftheepidemic.
“Predictably,DonaldTrump’sreactionhasbeenallabout
him. Among otherinanities,hesuggestedthe pandemicwas
aDemocrat plot toharmhisre- election chances”,and that his
Mexican“b order wall”hadimmunisedAmericans.AsAmerica
headstowardsanelection,trustin
Trump’sleadershipisevaporating.
And inacrisis,trustisaninvaluable
commodity,saidTheEconomist. “Trust
givesleaderslicence totakedifficult
decisions aboutquarantines andsocial
distancing,includingschool closures.”
Alack ofitleadsto chaos,as the suspicion thatpoliticiansare
hidingthetruthstokes rumour andfear.Andthenthereisthe“corona-anxiety”,saidClare FogesinThe
Times.Supermarketshelvesstrippedoffood, “airportsempty,
footballgroundseerie, lifeupended”.Wethoughtour “‘civilised
life’wasunassailable”;in amatterof days,thispandemichas
exposedjusthowfragileitis.Arisingsenseofpanic and dread
maybe inevitable, butitisbeingexacerbatedbyourcompulsion
to follow thiscrisis,minutebyminute,on the24-hournews.We
thinkthat information willreassureus, byprovidinganswers.But
it doesn’t, becausetherearesofewanswers–butalsobecauseit
isournatureto wallow inthenegative.Sotakeabreakfromthe
news,choose courtesyoverrancour,andfocusonallthatremains
good intheworld:selflesspeople,goodneighbours,thebeauty
of the sky.“Wemaynotbe abletocontrolthepandemicitself”,
but for our ownsakes, we must“control howwe respondto it”.Covid-19: aworld reeling from the shock of lockdown
“It is astonishing how swiftly
our focus has turned from
lavatory rolls to death tolls”The ordinary has becomeacasualty of the crisisIf you’re wondering what to
wear inapandemic,Naomi
Campbellhas the answer. This
week, the supermodel arrived
at LAX in full “hazmat” suit,
pink rubber gloves, face mask
and goggles. And it wasn’t the
first time that she had demon-
strated her full commitment to
in-flight hygiene, said The Daily
Telegraph: last summer, she
postedavideo showing how
she painstakingly anti-bacs her
seat each time she flies. “Thisis whatIdoe very planeIget
on,” she said. “I don’t care
what people think of me.”In anew memoir, Rachel
Johnson explains that she
makesamodes tliving as a
journalist, but that her passion
is for tennis. Last year she
played the former PMDavid
Cameron,and no tedthe
escalating intensity of the
expletives he uses when he
muffs ashot. “If he double
faults, he hisses, ‘Big blouse,
David!’” she writes. “Or, ‘Fat
bugger!’ Then the c-word, foll-
owed by ‘Lazy fat c***’ or ‘Shit
the bed’.” But strangely, when
he missesa“tota lsitter” and
isreallycross, he says, “in a
reflective voice of purest calm:
‘That, David, was the worst
shot in lawn tennis’.”The Queenhas met every
president of France’s Fifth
Republic. OnValéry Giscard
d’Estaingshe bestowed the
rare gift ofalabrador puppy
from Sandringham’s kennels.
“You know,” she joked, “he
doesn’t speak French.” Giscard
took her at her word: he trained
Samba in English, and always
spoke to the dog in English.
But according toanew book,
her favourite wasCharles de
Gaulle.During his state visit in
1960, his wife was asked what
she looked forward to in
retirement. “A penis,” she
replied. Her husband quickly
clarified: “Yes, we are looking
forward to happiness.”Pick of the week’s
Gossip
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