Difficult times

The World Health Organization (WHO) has acknowledged that the COVID-19 pandemic is unprecedented and is now recommending that countries consider lifting their stringent public health measures in a phased manner while being mindful of the potential return of intense virus community transmission (WHO, 2020). Stay-at-home orders, together with other restrictions and the reorientation of health systems, come with a cost. The significant socio-economic impact is affecting many lives, as small- and medium-sized businesses fail and the loss of normal healthcare has interrupted the treatment and care of those with non-COVID-19 health problems (acutely unwell and serious long-term conditions, such heart disease, asthma, diabetes and cancer) (Royal College of General Practitioners (RCGP), 2020).

Difficult decisions need to be taken so that the long-term socio-economic and non-COVID-19 health consequences can be minimised. The future of the NHS depends on the UK having a strong economy to fund public services, and others' health should not be sacrificed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Inevitably, the media will be full of the wisdom of many professors of hindsight and naysayers, rather than an informed discourse involving strategists, optimists, pragmatists and others drawing on the developing scientific knowledge of the novel virus and best practice for economic recovery. Indeed, many despair of the media's negativity, which has left the general population concerned and anxious about every aspect of their lives, such that primary care is trying to strengthen people's resilience by recommending the use of various psychological tools (Psychology Tools, 2020).