I was reading a friend’s description of chemotherapy, a compelling read that detailed his sense of being poisoned in every cell, his dread of each worsening day and his fear that the terrible, iterative loss might never end. Things might never get better. The parallel was obvious. At what point in the world’s self-treatment for COVID-19 do we decide that the treatment is more terrible than the disease?

As we speak, just over 134,000 people have died of the virus. Of the 1.4 million current cases, some 51,000 are serious or critical. All up, there are around four times as many recoveries as deaths. So yes, it’s bad. But, over the same three months, more than 17 million people have died in the world. Why are we so fearful of this particular disease?

In Australia 65 people have died. Then again, 119 Australians die from cardiovascular heart disease on average every day, and we don’t ban animal fats. We don’t mandate cardio-training. True, it’s worse elsewhere, but is it worth poisoning the entire world economy?

True, too, all human life is valuable. If we stop believing that, civilisation is over. But any decision to save a life rests upon the tacit question, at what cost? Usually, there’s no hesitation. It’s worth it. But as our population swells, the horror scenarios of medics choosing whom to save must become commonplace.