THREAD The scale of the crisis we all now face is almost unimaginable. The scientists tell us that tens of thousands of us, perhaps even hundreds of thousands, may die. The economy will be shattered. And all this could last 18 months, they say. #coronavirus #covid19 #covid19UK
The freedoms we cherished without a care — the hugs and caresses and whispers — are in peril. We didn’t even know they were freedoms. Our children are to live without schools. Our luxuries are slipping away: a pint with our friends, a birthday meal, a week in Spain in the summer.
Eighty years after we fought to save ourselves from tyranny, we face a fight to save ourselves from contagion. The decisions being taken now and in the coming days have the potential to shape the rest of our days. We are living in an epoch-shaking moment.
The extent and the duration of the changes we must now make are now dawning on us but slowly. Loneliness and poverty lurk in the shadows. There will be battles with our banks, pleading with our landlords, frustration with our leaders. The virus bears bitter fruit.
Will we endure? We are resilient. We are ingenious. We are courageous. We are human. We have the capacity to stand together even if we must live apart. Last night, in Edinburgh’s old port of Leith, music rang out. Sorrow, yes. But also hope. There is always hope.
