God be with us if the coronavirus hits us one of these days and it is only a question of time. As we speak, the number of cases of the coronavirus is estimated at more than 6,000. They are spread over more than a dozen countries outside China, including five in the United States and four in France. As for the number of cases in China, that could be grossly underplayed for obvious reasons. As it is, in a matter of days, the narrative changed from “rumours” about an imaginary illness – spread by anti-patriots, I guess – to a corrosive virus that needed the attention of the World Health Organization.

So let’s not kid ourselves. Considering the mobility of our people and the way the virus is spreading like wildfire, there is no running away from the fact that sooner or later, we will be hit. When (not if) that happens, it will be Armageddon. Unless we change our attitude to life and to each other. And this might be a great opportunity.

As a country, we have a history of fighting viruses, years of infection control training and a system in place that starts at the airport. Come from a country classified as having a contagious virus and the guys from the Health Office are at your doorstep the very next day to take a blood sample. And thank God that Air Mauritius’ irresponsible obstinacy and misplaced bravado have finally given way to some common sense resulting in taking the lead from other more sensible airlines and stopping flights to and from China. My worry is not at the level of the authorities’ ability to execute a nationwide containment strategy. My concern is about our own attitude.

“Cynics would say that the coronavirus seems to be the Animal Kingdom’s way of taking its revenge. It is Mother Nature’s way of calling for restraint. Containing it will also depend on how much care and restraint we can exercise.”

If you want to know how badly we need to change our attitude, just think about our reaction to the virus. We have seen queues of Chinese people waiting in hospital for attention in an orderly manner before the panic struck. Over here, we had the case of one febrile person who was supposed to be quarantined to prevent the spread of the virus if he was indeed carrying it. His reaction? He bolted out of the hospital, must have come in contact with hundreds of people in the time he was on the run before he was finally apprehended and taken in for his own protection and that of others. It hasn’t transpired yet whether the inconsiderate, unconscious guy is affected by the virus or not but imagine if he was. What exactly were his thought processes as he eloped from a place that was trying to extend help to him and prevent him from infecting others?

And that is just the symptom of a disease that is eating us from inside: our propensity to worry simply about our little selves. So expect some travellers coming back to Mauritius to lie about the countries they visited just to escape control or possibly quarantine, if the authorities are not on their guard. Expect others showing symptoms to keep them to themselves until it’s too late while perhaps showing up at work and carrying on with their normal activities in the meantime.

In our pages this week (see Weekly interview), Dr. Sunil Gunness suggests that those who are coughing should wear masks to prevent the infection from spreading. I almost choked in laughter hearing that. Yet, that’s what they do in countries like Japan, for example, to avoid spreading much less serious viruses like influenza. Those, on the other hand, who are used to throwing their litter out of the window of a moving car, or sweeping their waste away from their doorstep onto the neighbour’s are unlikely to even think of the implication of a civilised gesture like that. As for those who handle the food we eat, expect pecuniary considerations to triumph over everything else, including our national health.

Cynics would say that the coronavirus seems to be the Animal Kingdom’s way of taking its revenge. It is Mother Nature’s way of calling for restraint. Containing it will also depend on how much care and restraint we can exercise.

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