If there was ever a song for the current times, it would be REM’s “it’s the end of the world as we know it — and I feel fine”. Coronavirus is the proverbial only show in town. It is staggering to see how people respond to what is essentially a cold-like illness.

Now, let’s be straight. Some people will get a more severe illness, and some have died — although, mainly those over 80 and with pre-existing medical conditions.

In that respect, it is similar to the annual influenza season. To give some perspective so far, this northern winter, there have been at least 32 million cases of flu, 180,000 hospitalisations and 18,000 deaths from influenza in the US.

The figures would be similar, and possibly greater, in Europe and far greater in China.