Getting influenza this year- the Covid effect

I am not a big fan of Nostradamus neither am I a prophet of doom. However, Come September – October and the flu season will be upon us. Now this is something to think about. Every family, going by statistics, has a few people who get influenza every year. Colds, fever etc are all taken in their stride. Symptoms usually appear from one to four days after exposure to the virus, and they last five to seven days. You are then left a little weak but up and about. If things get worse as they sometimes do – the person consults a doctor, gets a few medicines coupled with the soothing doctor’s advice which works wonders for me and soon everything is under control. This year the whole scenario will be very different for obvious reasons. School infirmaries will be buzzing with activity with kids and staff by the dozen, coming down with fever and beginning to sneeze and get body aches while in school. Usually, they are given some simple over the counter medication and sent back to class as soon as they feel a little better. At times, if the temperature is on the high side or the kid feels poorly, the parents are informed, and the kid is taken home - what about this year? Fear psychosis, a sense of helplessness, the worry about impending isolation, sanitization, ambulance, anxious parents, WhatsApp messages circulating & causing unnecessary confusion, ? Hopefully not. I am just sitting and thinking about the impending panic, which, whether you like it or care to believe or not- will follow in schools, in homes, in offices and factories all over the world this year. I am not a hypochondriac, but, like many others, getting the normal flu this year will surely worry me. IT WILL BE DIFFERENT AND STRESSFUL . Should I have a Covid test? – should I play a wait and watch game? Should I – Should I – Should I? I really do not know. Pray that better sense prevails, and everyone is cautious and following the instructions of the authorities in whichever country they are. To overcome this, we all must be responsible. This is not something to scoff at or attempt to brush under the carpet hoping it will go away. This is not the time to be rash, brash, or foolhardy either. This is serious business and must be taken as such. Comparing the statistics to Asian flu, Spanish flu, Ebola , Zika Virus , H1N1 Swine flu ,Sars , Bird flu and Aids will not help . It is so very painful and frighteningly disgusting to see people in large groups chatting – all without masks on, or masks pulled down under the chin without a care in the world. People without gloves in supermarkets touching and feeling vegetables, milk bottles and other items. Unadulterated ignorance and pure stupidity, to put it bluntly, is what I term it. Cannot help but quote that rather sinister saying which I read somewhere a few weeks ago “better to be six feet apart than six feet under”