A two metre gap isn't too much to ask of shoppers | Verity Lush

Approximately one staircase away from said bed, and inordinately close to the remote control, for the foreseeable future.

One of the key things to managing the time at home is staying away from too much media.

Reading headlines that are not doomful and maintaining a need-to-know basis for the rest.

It is too easy otherwise to dwell and incubate our own fear.

Everyone is rightly cheering our NHS at the moment but what makes our NHS is the people in it.

The people who are working harder now than they will ever have to work again.

If the public can maintain their social-distancing, then hopefully the peak of this crisis will come and then, crucially, pass, and in doing so release some of the pressure and fear for our medical workforce.

My husband did a dive into a shop this week for milk and bread. We’ve managed to get the majority of our food delivered so this was our first foray into the public domain in over three weeks.

Yet still, people did not wait for others in aisles, they did not purposefully move out of the way, and some were milling around as if it were April 2019 and there wasn’t a potentially lethal virus sweeping the nation.

Farlington Marshes cycle path – usually deserted – is now stuffed to its narrow gills.

Great, go for your daily exercise, but if you are supposed to maintain a two metre distance, then for goodness’ sake, don’t go to an enclosed path from which there is no escape for two miles.

Particularly if you’re one of the sets of folk who refuse to walk single file!

However much you want to get out, remember – your life is at stake – keep your distance.

We should also applaud our brave supermarket workers

I have so much admiration for the staff in the supermarkets.

It is not an occupation one enters assuming there may one day be an extreme risk to your health and that of your family.

The NHS, the refuse collectors, the AA even – so many crucial, critical workers out there. But the ones in the supermarkets are on a frontline with no protection of their own.

Hundreds of people, daily, many of whom still don’t seem to get the idea of backing the hell away from others, pass through their checkouts. That’s a lot of face-to-face socialization and hands-on contact.

Lots of services deserve a clap and our supermarket staff are right up there.

Imagine how hard it would have been to connect in 1990

Our current situation provides a sense of perspective about the things that really matter…

It is painful to be unable to see our families for example while life is on pause, to not be able to see our friends, but it’s a necessity for the survival of our country.

Anyone who lives with a critical worker at the moment knows how very hard those members of society are working to keep everything going while the nation plays its part by staying indoors.

Imagine if this had happened in 1990? No social media, no Kindles or online orders, only a landline, and four channels on the TV.

All you need to do is sit on your sofa, or do your garden, or ring your friends and family, and connect.

A message from the Editor

Thank you for reading this story on portsmouth.co.uk. While I have your attention, I also have an important request to make of you.

With the coronavirus lockdown having a major impact on many of our advertisers - and consequently the revenue we receive - we are more reliant than ever on you taking out a digital subscription.

Subscribe to portsmouth.co.uk and enjoy unlimited access to local news and information online and on our app. With a digital subscription, you can read more than 5 articles, see fewer ads, enjoy faster load times, and get access to exclusive newsletters and content. Visit our Subscription page now to sign up.

Our journalism costs money and we rely on advertising, print and digital revenues to help to support them. By supporting us, we are able to support you in providing trusted, fact-checked content for this website.