Last night I watched maybe the most surreal cricket game of my life.

The Black Caps bombed so that wasn’t an entirely new experience. It was at the SCG. Not a sausage, not a soul, not a single fan in sight.

Of course the cricket is hardly alone. Sports games, concerts, large gatherings are being called off all over the place, and as many countries dramatically step-up their response to covid-19, the sense that here in New Zealand we’re on the cusp of something really significant, grows stronger by the minute. It’s like waiting for a slow-moving violent cyclone to crash into our shores.

It’s funny isn’t it, because when you pause and break it down, we haven’t actually had any more confirmed cases in almost a week. Our hospitals aren’t overwhelmed at this stage.

But between the widespread travel bans, the tanking global economy, and good God... Tom Hanks?! It’s hard not to get just a little bit stressed out.

Now I’m not going to use my position to make predictions about what might or might not happen from a public health perspective. But we should be a little bit stressed out. A national emergency is set to be called in the United States. There are increasing numbers of cases in Australia too. It seems likely that travel bans are going to be extended here as well.

Compared to the rest of the world, we have a couple of reasons to feel a bit more upbeat. I think we’re fortunate to have public health experts who are doing their very best to communicate regularly and effectively with all of us. I know we all have our come-tos and frustrations with the media and politicians from time to time, but this is a great time to be in a country where you can generally trust the information being shared.

Does that mean everyone gets through all right? No. I’m sure it doesn’t. It must be an awfully tricky thing for public health expert and politicians to weigh up the staggering economic losses with the risk of continuing life as usual. This is going to be a huge test for the New Zealand health system and a huge test for the government. I don’t envy them for a moment.

At the moment, the news is coming so thick and fast. It feels like the situation is changing every couple of minutes. One minute everything’s on, the next everything’s off and Justin Trudeau is in self-isolation.

For those of you who feel cocky about the virus, and note that for most people it’s not any worse than a very mild case of the flu, just imagine how you would feel if you pass on the virus to someone who doesn’t have a good outcome. Think about the more vulnerable people in your life, and check yourself.

And for those of you who feel the opposite, who feel really scared, just remember that for most people it isn’t much worse than a mild flu. And feeling scared is a totally understandable and very reasonable reaction. Yep, there’s reason to feel anxious. I think all of us feel anxious. We’re in the unknown at the moment and there’s every possibility that we haven’t seen the biggest impact of this thing yet.

But kia kaha. We’ll be ok. We will get through. The world isn’t ending. Maintain perspective and don’t forget to wash your hands.

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