Nearly 5,000 people have officially died. Nearly 135,000 people have been officially affected. The likelihood is that it is actually more, and the likelihood is that those numbers will have altered by the time you finish reading this page.

In the United Kingdom, there have been 596 confirmed cases, and 10 resulting in death. That will rise sharply. The country’s Prime Minister, Boris Johnson, has openly admitted more people – more loved ones – are going to die. It is a claim which makes the UK’s response of doing very little, in a time when so much more of the world is doing all it can to contain the situation, all the more worrying.

This is the worst global health crisis of a generation. As well as the obvious and concerning mortality rate, it will impact in so many different ways, none more so than the strain on the NHS for those who need treatment for other issues. Schools and businesses have closed. People will not be able to go to work. People need to work in order to earn money. Without work, they will not have money to look after themselves, or their loved ones. For those who need to use food banks, supplies are already shortened because of people panic buying items; there is also a lack of clarity of how they will operate when the situation becomes worse.

COVID-19 (or Coronavirus, as it is more commonly known), is a global pandemic. It is going to impact so many lives in one way or another, none of them positively. Life could, and essentially should, stop until the growth of the virus stops.

So why are we concerned about something as unimportant as whether Liverpool finish the season as Premier League champions?

This is a site dedicated to writing about Liverpool Football Club. Its staff members (and 99% of freelancers), to a man and woman, support Liverpool Football Club. It has been 30 long, arduous and heartbreaking years since the last league championship. This season has been a 29-game exercise in catharsis. Two wins will confirm it. And that is why people are concerned. How cruel it would be if the Premier League were to void the season, as has been suggested. The moment that has been dreamed of, that has become more and more inevitable as the weeks progressed throughout this campaign, snatched away because of a force of nature.

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I get it, to a degree. Rival fans on that cesspit of social media snake into replies of any football-related update on the story, laughing at the possibility Liverpool won’t become champions. Manchester United 20, COVID-19, Liverpool 18 is one standard reply. This, then, deserves a retort. Football is one of the most parochial things in the world, it was only natural Coronavirus would be infected with it. That passion should often be celebrated, but not when something so serious is happening. Rival fans need to grow up. So do those who are falling into the trap of responding. To reduce this into a bullet in the splurge gun of 'football banter' is wrong.

It has led to people genuinely worried about what happens. Just play the games! comes the cry. If anybody suggests that it would be ill-advised to continue the season as scheduled (note: not cancel, but simply postpone), they are met with a string of abuse. You cannot use Twitter as a gauge of rational thought, but it still shines a distorted mirror upon everything.

And yet, here we are. Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta has been diagnosed with it. Chelsea winger Callum Hudson-Odoi has become the first Premier League player to be confirmed. Now, most pertinently, Everton are the latest Premier League team to go into self-isolation. The Merseyside derby will surely be cancelled, and the Premier League must surely act in Friday’s meeting and suspend the competition. That won’t be popular with some Liverpool fans, but some things are more important than football. As a city, it is often regarded as one of the warmest, welcoming and empathetic. It does not only look after its own, but as many others as possible.

Now is the time to do that. A title win is big. The parade would be even bigger. But the biggest crisis in many of our lifetimes is currently unfolding. If the Premier League were to take the decision to postpone or cancel this season’s competition, it would be either overdue or very premature respectively, but it would also be done in order to protect as many people as possible. The Independent suggest there are some figures at clubs wanting the season to be annulled. That seems heavy-handed. But whatever medical advice decrees, it is certain the year-long joy of being champions is outweighed by the lifelong joy of living.

As Premier League leaders, it is for Liverpool fans to lead. Don’t make this about football alone. There is far more to be lost than number 19. It is understandable people are upset, but football will go on. Eventually.