There are some justifiable reasons why ~1000 daily deaths in the UK is reported differently from the same situation in Italy a few weeks ago. First: we have absorbed a new tragic baseline for ‘normal’. But it’s also a question of the efficacy of shouting...

When Italy was first facing this crisis, there was still time for us to act and protect ourselves. Now there is not.

Because of the incubation period of Covid it takes two weeks for distancing policies to work, so today’s death toll is the result of choices made 15-20 days ago.

We don’t know if the current lockdown is tight enough to suppress this outbreak. The growth rate seems to be slowing so we can be slightly optimistic but not complacent.

In that context, what would be the benefit of reporting that said: this is the new apocalypse? I think reporters have a sense shared by the wider public that this is a time for accountability but not recriminations.

~1000 deaths a day *is* horrific. There are big questions about our PPE provision, our testing approach, protections for social care, protections for workers in retail and distribution. These need to be asked a) now and b) in a public enquiry later.

But we need to retain the ability to remain calm in the face of horror, because fear will make us less able to cope. This is our reality, and it is human strength that enables us (and our NHS heroes) to survive something that seemed unimaginable at a distance.