KEEP SAFE ONE AND ALL

My article in this week’s Cornish Guardian newspaper is, somewhat unsurprisingly, about the Coronavirus crisis. It will be as follows:

The terrible news that more than 10,000 people in the United Kingdom have died from covid-19 shows we have some way to go before the pandemic is defeated.

It is inevitable that the present lockdown will need to continue, but I have to say that I think it is really impressive how the vast majority of people are respecting and following government guidelines, for example, to work from home, maintain social distancing or to self-isolate.

We all have a role to play at this time of global emergency. As one Professor of Medicine said: “It has never been easier to save a life. Just stay at home. If we all keep it up, the death toll will fall. Self-discipline over the next few days will be key.”

It is also phenomenal that so many local residents are looking out for their families, friend and neighbours.

But we must keep remembering that NHS workers are in the real “front-line” of this crisis, doing their utmost to save the lives of people already infected and who, in the words of the Prime Minister, are “putting themselves in harm's way.” It is awe-inspiring that so many people are going to work, day after day, in the full knowledge that they are exposing themselves to such a dangerous virus, and it is distressing that more than twenty doctors, nurses and hospital porters, have already lost their lives.

Other key workers such as employees in the care sector, shop and supermarket workers, postal / delivery workers, members of the emergency services and those keeping public transport going, are also continuing to serve the public, which puts them at greater risk than the majority of the population.

With so many individuals striving to get us through this difficult time, and lots of families and small businesses facing an uncertain future, it is shocking to hear how certain wealthy individuals and “funds” have made vast amounts of money by “playing the markets” as investors feared a global economic downturn because of coronavirus.

One American investment company “placed bets on market volatility” and bragged that it made £2.4 billion, while one “investments fund” claims to have made a return of 3,612% in the month of March. And here in the UK, a company called Somerset Capital Management (and founded by a government minister) has been trying to generate new business by telling potential clients that the crisis made “excellent entry points for investors” while promising “super normal returns” – whatever that is.