I am not a doctor.  In the words of Tony Hancock, “I never really bothered.” So anything I have to say about matters of health needs to be taken with a large pinch of salt.  That having been said, I do have one or two observations on the UK’s preparedness for coronavirus:

• reliable, accurate and uptodate public information is a must.  That is incompatible with banning government ministers from appearing on serious news media, including but not limited to The Today program.
• for the prime minister to defer a Cobra meeting in the face of a potential health catastrophe is unforgivable.
• the latest suggestion form government that retired doctors and health officials will be re-called to duty sits oddly with the fact that coronavirus is most deadly for the elderly.