It's not the China virus that is dominating our lives; it is the panicking, in many cases power-drunk, politicians and bureaucrats who are dominating our lives. Throw in the non-stop commentaries and the mad media, and that's where all the fear and misery comes from. The virus will peter out, then we will be back to the same sorts of people nagging us about climate change, or whatever new 'problem' some crackpot dreams up.

Also trying to "rule" us is China, the source of the virus. China's latest effort being a threat to put a tariff of 80% on our barley exports. Added to the recent general threats and insults from the Communist government's ambassador, it's clear that we need to commence the process of ridding ourselves of China altogether.

" Most of us also preserve a certain scepticism about whether our Government and Health Experts can protect us during such crises."

Many will -- or should -- be sceptical about future health expert modelling that is used for formulating policy.

Thanks to our health experts' grossly alarmist forecast of 50,000 to 150,000 COVID-19 fatalities, our federal and state governments panicked and implemented the most draconian shutdown measures ever.

The catastrophic effects of these measures will continue to be felt, and certainly remembered, long after the pandemic passes.

It's a pandemic that thus far, has targeted over two million folk and killed thousands around the globe

Could not have survived for more than minutes at source, but for the changed composition of the atmosphere, now with less than half the oxygen percentage than when our forebears stood up on their hind legs around 1.5 million years ago?

At which time the percentage of oxygen would have been around 51%?

Now somewhere around 20-21%? And because its' been consume in all manner of combustion to make CO2? Which as a percentage, is up there, in record uncharted territory!

I have long believed, we seriously underate oxygen as a therapeutic tool to treat all manner of medical problems! And controlled by myopically focused ( turn it down) bean counters, merely masquerading as health professionals

And vastly underate hyperbaric oxygen therapy to treat hostile pathogens.

And, I would seem to have some qualified agreement to a point in a medical, noble winning, doctor? All be it pooh hooed, by the medical fraternity, just as they did, when two noble prize-winning researchers, proved stomach ulcers were caused by bacteria, no stomach acid, per se.

This particular virus has a kill rate up there around 20 %? And that makes it, ten times more deadly than the seasonal flu? Where frontline health workers at the greatest risk of exposure and infection!

All too easy for an ivory tower academic to muse about whether or not it qualifies as a pandemic or just an ordinary epidemic?

It matters not to those now being interred in mass graves, given they're just as dead and will continue thus until we find an effective protective antiviral or vaccine?

Sadly, there is no vaccine for stupidity, idiotic ideological imperatives or just plain old fashioned incompetence or personal greed!
Alan B.

Interesting piece, Peter, and I'll reflect on it. It will be fascinating to learn what the unintended side-effects have been and will be, when the pandemic is agreed no longer to be a pandemic.