Boris Johnson is not just a politician, he is – for better or for  worse – prime minister.  That gives him a duty;  protector in chief, if you will.  Seen in that light the information he chose to share yesterday concerning the likely onset of coronavirus was a disgrace.  He told us the worst case scenario would be contagion of around 80% of the UK population of 66.5m, due to escalate rapidly and, probably,  to peak in May.   Given that the death rate seems to have slowed to around 1% that implies that in the next 2.5 months, 75 days, between mid-March and end May, roughly 8,900 people will die per day, in addition to the usual mortality rate.  It is shocking: bodies will be stockpiled in morgues.  Still, according to Johnson, they can die with pride, in the sound knowledge that Britain is a “wonderful country” with a health service that is amongst “the world’s finest,” the jewel in the lotus as you might say – not a crumbling edifice starved of funds and facing a chronic shortage of staff.

Of advice there was almost none: wash your hands.  My God, I would never have thought of that.  Johnson’s suggestion that the 20 seconds considered necessary to wash thoroughly can be judged by a rendition of the National Anthem is, frankly, bizarre.   Of course, Her Majesty can hardly warble the anthem herself, which is a shame as at 93 she is one of the group classed most vulnerable.

One method proposed to contain the spread is “self-isolation.”  Otherwise known as immuration, it is a technique practiced by Tibetan yogi – with some risk to their mental health.  Unfortunately, although the incubation period (14 days) has been shared, the length of time necessary for effective self-isolation remains a mystery.

Another alternative, and perhaps as effective as any that Johnson has come up with, is simply to sit back and let fate decide.  Om mani padme hum, as the Tibetan mantra runs: hail to the jewel in the lotus