Several newspapers have announced that France has shut down all public places ‘non-essential’ to public life including restaurants and cafes, although allowing tobacconists to stay open. Surely, they should know that restaurants are essential for the French as are coffee shops for the Italians and sports grounds for Australians.

Obviously, it is vital to try to stop the spread of the virus by reducing contact between people, but the anomalies are puzzling. Most schools are still open, public transport is still running and overcrowded and even Governments are meeting and still functioning, well at least as well as they usually do.

Everyone is doing a great job to protect the physical health of the people, but we shouldn’t forget the mental health as well. If everyone is ‘effectively’ isolated, it will be hard for many to cope with the isolation.

Let’s bunker down for a while and hope all is well and remember to stay calm as best as we can.

Dennis Fitzgerald—Melbourne, Australia