Covid questions
Sir: I worry that Matt Ridley and others are trying to frighten us about Covid-19 (‘Like nothing we’ve known’, 21 March). The fact is that we do not know how deadly the virus is. We know that it is widespread; but that does not make it deadly. How long-lasting is the danger from Covid-19? Will it remain in the system after the pandemic scare is over? We do not know. But will civilisation survive? You betcha!
I was called up to National Service in 1952 and while waiting for the train to take me to Aldershot, I bought a book at the station called Earth Abides by George R. Stewart. Written in 1949, this was about a deadly virus that wipes out 99.9 per cent of humanity. Civilisations collapsed, but slowly the remaining humans regrouped. True, the science of 1949 didn’t have any of our modern scientific knowledge; nevertheless, Matt Ridley might find it interesting.
Michael
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