I haven't been able to access this site for the last week, so it's good to see you all again and hear that you are ok.

With typical luck (or lack of foresight) we lost our broadband a week ago. The ISP expects to restore it on Friday. My son has just set us up on 5G.

In the UK, we are now on lockdown. We're allowed out once a day for exercise and to buy essentials. When I looked this morning, there were 17 confirmed cases in out small city (population approx 80k) but the total must be much higher. So far, two people from work have reported symptoms out of 70. Both are young and without known medical conditions. The colleague who is on immuno-suppressant drugs has been self-isolating for more than a week and he's pretty strict. I've been very careful, too, as I have asthma.

Yesterday, I was shocked to hear that a new hospital with two wards each able to take 2,000 patients will open in London next week. That really brought it home. This is serious. Most of the US has the advantage of being slightly behind the curve but it's coming.

On the positive side, both my sons have come home. We are all able to work from home - subject to availability of internet - and the house is big enough so that it doesn't feel crowded. At Christmas, one son gave the other a board gamed called Pandemic. We haven't felt like playing it.

This is bad but there are positives. With everyone staying at home, we are consuming less and that reduces pollution and global warming. We also learn what is important to us. I had to cancel a holiday, but so what? I understand that our children and possibly their children will be paying for this but to put it in perspective, a few years ago War Bonds for the the 1914-18 war finally redeemed. My son said that we are still paying for the Napoleonic Wars, though I'm not yet convinced.

Even if the US government has been slow to act, US technology firms are in the forefront of managing and treating this pandemic and hopefully the US can learn from Asia and Europe.