At the time of writing the UK and the rest of the world is in the grip of the Covid-19 outbreak.

Not only have families been devastated by the loss of loved ones, much of the economy has been put into stasis due to the social distancing measures the government has had to take. It is a tough time for everyone and people need to heed government advice around the world and limit contact with others as much as possible. The virus can and will burn itself out, but this can only be done if we limit its ability to transfer from one person to another.

As a fledgling business, Valmac is feeling the pinch of the social and economic lockdown. Having had an order book that took me up to June, everything in my sales pipeline has, for the time being at least, fallen by the wayside. The only work I’m doing is emergency fixes on an ad-hoc basis – pretty much all gas appliance related and only where absolutely necessary. I’m very conscious of the fact that as much as I need to pay the bills, I have a duty to do my part to limit the spread of this invisible killer and not put others at risk.

Things seem bleak for a lot of people right now, but we will all beat this thing. The economic and emotional hardships will continue long after the lockdown measures around the globe  have been lifted and the effects felt for generations to come, but if any good can come out of this, it is that people and governments can work together to combat an existential threat.

The virus doesn’t discriminate between creed, colour or race. It seeks out our vulnerabilities and exploits them. While the young and strong have proved to be more resilient to the virus, this is by no means universal. We are all potential victims and must act accordingly for the sake of ourselves and those around us.