LONDON, U.K. -- For those of us still scratching off the days here, we are at the end of week three of our collective, voluntary internment. Only week three.
It is worth noting that the city of Wuhan, China鈥攚here the pandemic started鈥攚as under quarantine for 76 days.
Take a deep breath, friends.
It is understandable, I suppose, that on this day, Easter Monday, some of Britain鈥檚 newspapers would depict Boris Johnson鈥檚 recovery from coronavirus as a near-resurrection. His Messiah moment.
鈥淭hings could have gone either way.鈥 He was re-baptized, 鈥淏attler Boris鈥 and his survival portrayed as 鈥渁n epic symbol of our national ordeal.鈥
Now that he鈥檚 recuperating nicely at the prime minister鈥檚 country estate, shall we indulge in a quick review of that ordeal?
We knew it was serious when Boris closed the nation鈥檚 pubs at 5 p.m. on a Friday鈥攋ust as hundreds of thousands of people were enjoying a post-work pint. His timing could have been better.
Three days later he ordered a full national lockdown, reluctantly, and under pressure from worried members of his own party. By then, the virus was spreading quickly across the U.K.
And where are we now? By this weekend, the country had recorded more than 10,000 hospital deaths from coronavirus.
We鈥檙e all looking for a big historic comparison, and war comes closest. It feels to many what London must have been like during the Blitz.
Today it鈥檚 panic buying, and scrambling for a food delivery. Then, it was rationing, and hiding in bomb shelters.
Want to hear a good story? In the fall of 1940, the King of England organized hush-hush shipments of Bromo soft toilet paper through the British embassy in Washington. (I owe that little info-gem to )
In today鈥檚 war, all the shops and pubs and schools and theatres are closed. At the height of the Battle of Britain, shops were wide open. Hyde Park was full of sunbathers confident the Germans wouldn鈥檛 attack until nightfall. Last week, the British government banned sunbathing.
There is talk now of easing the lockdown on May 8. Think of the symbolism: On the 75th anniversary of Germany鈥檚 surrender in 1945鈥擵E Day鈥攚hen the streets of London and Paris went into wild celebration.
For Germany鈥檚 President, Frank-Walter Steinmeier, the war analogy goes too far. He had some sensible things to say over the weekend.
鈥淣o, this pandemic is not a war,鈥 he told the country in a rare TV address. 鈥淣ations do not stand against nations, nor soldiers against soldiers. Rather it is a test of our humanity.鈥
Just as lockdown is a test of our patience and mental endurance.
A viewer wrote to me last week with a striking description of what he and his wife are going through. They are retired and do not leave the house without wearing gloves and facemask.
鈥淭he unknown is a scary, scary place,鈥 he wrote, 鈥渁nd we are looking into the haze of the abyss right now.鈥
鈥淒eep down, most of us assume that we will pop out the other side into sunshine again, but we know the pain to get there is real and the fear is palpable.鈥
He ended this way:
鈥淢y wife thinks she gets a temperature every single night.鈥
