Corona reveals: spread

Spread of coronavirus

We are all very curious about the daily progress of COVID-19. The virus is spreading rapidly in Southern Europe with a high death toll, mainly among the elderly and chronically ill groups. The smartphone keeps us informed every moment of the rising numbers of victims in different countries and of the drastic measures that are being imposed.

Italy is leading the way because it has been hit so hard, but meanwhile all countries have taken measures that defy imagination. We were already no longer allowed to touch each other and now the country’s borders are also closing. We haven’t experienced that for a long time that there is border control. We have become so accustomed to an open Europe. I found that extremely pleasant that you could so drive from one country to another and pay with the same money everywhere.

It is a dream that is now shattered. Everyone has to stay home. We are not even allowed to go to our second residence by the sea anymore. The police can stop you and ask you what you intend to do. You then have to answer that, and depending on your explanation, you may be allowed to drive on or have to turn right around. Surely that is unseen. The dictatorship of the virus. It sometimes goes a little too far and it is quite disturbing.

The virus epidemic will not wipe out our civilization, but it will profoundly change it. In a way, it is good that for once we have an enemy that is not a human species, but a tiny particle that spreads at the expense of our peers. It will cost many lives, though. We can try to contain or mitigate that, but we should not overestimate our power in doing so.

We don’t really know if everything we do makes that much difference. It remains to be seen whether we are making a dent in a packet of butter. Slowing down the spread is possible, most experts think, and that is what we are doing now, resulting in a curious response from the population. Everyone is now in social distance mode, and in less than no time at all. I am perplexed; because I have not experienced such a growing we-feeling in many years. Being united against the coronavirus threat may allow us to forget our divisions and solve some of our pressing problems. Like government formation.

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