Although the Swiss are fairly pragmatic, I happened to be in a supermarket last Saturday just after various restrictions had been announced. The shelves were stripped of most items, but I watched a woman pull four cartons of Thai Coconut Milk from a shelf. Her small child asked, “Maman, what will you make with that?” To which she replied, “I have no idea! But it’s all that’s left so I’m buying it!”

Fortunately, although massively over-hyped by a mass media that thrives on sensationalism, the coronavirus isn’t actually the end of civilization or even a real threat to most of the population, so we can laugh at the folly of those induced into mindless panic. It’s just a shame they make things inconvenient for others.