THE Covid epidemic has most certainly left very many of us completely traumatised.

And that is precisely why we have reacted in a completely irrational way to the latest viral infection that has broken out on a Dutch cruise ship.

Three people – a Dutch couple and a German woman – tragically died after travelling on the MV Hondius, with two of them confirmed to have had the virus.

An American and a French national – who had disembarked and returned home – tested positive, while a Spaniard is also suspected to have contracted it.

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Nine cases of hantavirus have so far been confirmed, with two others suspected, according to the World Health Organization (WHO).

It’s not hard to see why this has us spooked. Even for those of us who didn’t have to work in the Covid wards in hospitals or suffer the heartache of losing a loved one during the pandemic – enduring the brutal funeral rituals that provided no closure or peace – this latest viral infection is shaking something within all of us. (Well, maybe not the........

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