Opinion

Allison Morris: Coronavirus is a test of our community spirit

Coronavirus is a test of how we all live our lives, a test of our community spirit
Coronavirus is a test of how we all live our lives, a test of our community spirit Coronavirus is a test of how we all live our lives, a test of our community spirit

There really is only one story in town this week, one thing we are all talking about, in the shops, at the school gates, in the work canteen.

Covid-19 and the growing risk to the elderly and vulnerable is the first test of this new assembly and their ability to make on the hop decisions for the good of us all.

This started as and remains primarily a health story but is so much more than that, it’s a test of how we all live our lives, a test of our community spirit.

And I know what many of you are thinking ‘it’s just a bad flu’ and for many of us it is a very low risk illness.

But as events in Italy, China and Iran have shown, coronavirus uncontrolled can lead to a large loss of life.

Health minister Robin Swann is a man with many challenges on his desk, his portfolio is endless, his budget not so much.

He now finds himself front and centre of this potential crisis which could be career making or ending depending on how he handles it.

Testing is key to controlling the spread of the virus, making sure all those showing symptoms get tested and isolated.

Those who were previously fit and healthy will require little more than monitoring at home while they ride out the symptoms.

But for others it will require intensive treatment, hospital beds, staff and equipment must be available when needed in order to save lives.

The hysteria that has accompanied this virus, the panic buying, the stockpiling of all things, endless rolls of toilet paper, has become almost comical as people post pictures of empty supermarket shelves.

But that’s when we must consider this is more than a health story this is a test of how we live our lives.

I like to think I’m a fit and healthy person, but my parents are elderly and suffer a number of underlying conditions.

I would be fine, they would not.

Most families have at least one person who has conditions that make them more vulnerable and so the ‘I’m alright Jack’ approach to the virus is simply not good enough.

Already there are those who seem unconcerned for their neighbours, for children with special needs, for the pensioner on the bus for whom infection would be life ending.

Hysteria is not the answer but common decency to help restrict the spread and protect the people we love.

Not stripping the shelves of essentials so people on low incomes whose weekly shop is budgeted to the last penny are not left without is key.

Then there are those calling for all out lockdown without thinking through what that does to working parents or school age children.

If schools are closed then thousands of people will be unable to work, what that does to our economy and in turn the ability to provide services is immeasurable.

What about children from low income families on free school meals who rely on that one hot meal a day, who is paying for the food, extra heating and electric for those families to be at home all day?

What of the children living in flats and hostels with no outside space to play who live for the social interaction of school and all that it entails?

And then there is the policing and security aspect.

How do you stop someone with symptoms who refuses to self-quarantine and instead decides to spread the virus around knowing they’re at low risk, not caring an iota for those at the other end of the scale?

Can there be laws introduced to force them and what’s to stop those laws being exploited or misused in the future?

I’ve watched and listened while all these things and more are debated in the streets, in the shops, on social media.

And already we can see this crisis impacts not just on health but education, policing and justice, economy and communities.

Stormont is being given a real test and the response of politicians and individual departments could mean life and death for people and the economy.

But society is also being tested, we are being tested as a community, as people who can for the duration of this put aside our differences to make sure than those most at risk are protected.

So be kind to each other, be mindful of those who need help and support but above all, wash your hands people.