Selfish Idiots Must Listen: It's A Matter Of Life And Death

At some point today, a letter from the NHS will land on my doormat. It will tell me that I need to stay at home for at least the next 12 weeks.

- Stephen Pollard

Not only that, it will tell me to avoid almost all contact even with my own family. Effectively I need to stay, as much as practically possible, in my bedroom for three months.

That’s because five years ago I was diagnosed with a form of leukaemia. My body makes too many white blood cells that crowd out the red cells and, if left to their own devices, threaten the working of my vital organs.

For most of that time, my specialist adopted what is known as “watch and wait” – no treatment, but constant monitoring to decide when to start. With spectacularly bad timing, my blood tests determined that my treatment needed to start in January. So I find myself now with a worsened immune system even more susceptible to infection than before – at the very moment when the entire planet is in the grip of a raging virus.

I tell you this not to elicit sympathy. There are hundreds of thousands of people far more dangerously ill than me. I tell you it to explain my anger – but really, the word “anger” doesn’t really come close – at the mindless, selfish idiots who are ignoring the Government’s advice to stay home other than for essential journeys and practice social distancing.