Unity is our strongest weapon

Like a giant committee of more than 60,000 we are all individuals. We have our own fears, desires, beliefs and responsibilities which pull us in different directions and drive our actions.

Suddenly, the risk-takers and the cautious are in the same lifeboat. As are the young and the old, the sick and the healthy, the rich and the poor, the informed and the ignorant, the self-centred and the benevolent.

Now the careless actions of the individual affect the whole. The boat rocker threatens not only his or her safety but that of everyone on board.

The current threat demands that islanders bury their own urges and follow the advice of the experts.

This is no time for selfishness. Those who feel carefree and invulnerable to the threat of the coronavirus need to stop, take a breath and understand that by refusing to take this virus seriously they put countless others at risk.

For the sake of a few months of acting responsibly many lives can be saved.

Those lives could be members of their family, friends or just innocent strangers.

That is what it means to be a strong community. The strength of our response to this crisis will be determined by our ability to act as one in the face of misinformation, scaremongering, tittle-tattle and malicious gossip.

Instead, we need to listen to and trust the advice of those with the knowledge and understanding of what we are facing.

They are currently having to target their message at those who are too relaxed, who have not listened and understood the gravity of the situation.

Some of those warnings are, by necessity, very worrying.

To counter that, it will be important over the coming weeks to take note of each piece of good news. Behind the number of confirmed cases is a wealth of detail that enables the leadership team to understand what is going on and they do not yet feel community seeding is rampant.

We will know more when the testing kit is up and running.

That cannot come soon enough.