It is approaching a month now, since coronavirus became the country’s most talked about subject. People now know that ‘furlough’ is not a means of measuring how far a racehorse has ran. Plus, you’ll never see anyone drinking a bottle of that Mexican beer ever again.

I am not going to lie – during the first couple of weeks, I was petrified of either contracting the virus myself, or a loved one falling ill.

There are two people I know, who believe that they caught the virus. Luckily, they appear to have made a recovery.

This has not eased my fears, as there are still thousands of people – of all ages, and from different backgrounds – who have died from COVID-19.

If you wanted, it would be possible to receive updates 24/7 on the pandemic. Some time ago, I made the decision to distance myself from this round-the-clock circus.

A SHINY PENNY TO WHOEVER KNOWS THE OWNER OF THIS TV SET.

I rarely watch live television at the moment and have restricted my use of Twitter to just a few times a day. The latter being one of the best decisions I have made in a while, and one I’ll try and continue to follow, even once things eventually settle down (however many weeks, months or years that may be).

I do, however, feel that I have become numb to coronavirus news. Cases and deaths continue to rise. On Sunday, it was reported that COVID-19 had claimed the life of Lord Bath. Not to mention the fact Prine Minister Boris Johnson, was admitted to hospital, after contracting the virus.

Based upon my initial reactions to the UK outbreak, you would be forgiven for thinking that I had covered my house in lead and barricaded myself indoors – happy that I should be safe from coronavirus, yet prepared to accept the risk of my air-tight home running out of oxygen.

THERE WAS A FOURTH LITTLE PIGGY WHO BUILT HIS HOUSE FROM LEAD. HE DIED FROM ANEMIA.

I think part of my new, calmer mentality is acceptance. I am at risk of developing serious complications should I become infected. There will be times when Claire must leave the house to go to work. There is no getting around those two facts. I am satisfied that my wife and I are taking as many precautions as are possible, but understand we are far from invincible – as is the case for our families, friends and colleagues – indeed, everyone in the world.

I have to accept that while a risk of transmission will remain indefinitely, there is nothing else that can be done about it. Stressing and having a breakdown isn’t going to help anyone. It certainly won’t reduce the chances of me catching coronavirus – in fact, if I became run down, due to lack of sleep and worry, I would probably risk lowering my natural immune system.

Hopefully others will adopt a calmer approach. Despite all the tragedy, the country could benefit from chilling out a bit. It would reduce a lot of the problems within our society, caused by recent panic.

Of course, chilling out a little can be a good thing, but not if this involves people becoming complacent and ignoring social distancing, hand hygiene etc…