Opinion : How should we honour the brave heroes of the Covid war?

The world is at war. The war is not against another country, this time the enemy is the Covid-19 virus.

However this war is unlike any normal war. It’s not a ‘Great War for Civilisation’, this time it’s a war against hospitalisation.

Covid-19 moves silently, invading countries and striking down the population. The new unseen Covid enemy doesn’t have a leader, there is no man with a ‘funny moustache’ coordinating the attack from a bunker in a foreign country.

This time we are all soldiers who can do our part fighting the battle. We’re not digging for victory, this time we’re washing our hands for victory.

It’s not just the young men of fighting age who are being struck down in their prime, this time the elderly and those with underlying health issues are most at risk.

Nobody knows when Covid will infect them, there is no advanced warning of a Covid strike. The victims don’t hear the sound of the engine stop and look to the sky to see where the rocket is falling. Indeed we don’t even know where the first ‘hit’ was it the UK, we can’t say it was at a defined point such as Staveley Road in Chiswick.

There are no ARP wardens going around telling us to ‘put that light out’, this time we’re all being told to ‘stay at home’.

Ironically the shortages of food are brought about by the selfishness of people stockpiling for their own greed and it was toilet rolls that ran out before fresh fruit and vegetables.

The Covid war of 2020 is not like any other ‘traditional’ war, this time it’s very different indeed.

Those at the front line fighting the battle don’t have guns, tanks or missiles. It’s the doctors, nurses and healthcare workers of the NHS who are the main combatants and their weapon is a hospital ventilator.

Can you imagine what it must be like for those in the NHS at the moment? It must be harrowing to be working in an intensive care unit looking after those who have succumbed to the terrible Coronavirus.

Sadly there are reports in the national news of doctors, nurses and other care workers succumbing to the illness themselves presumably through exposure in the line of duty. They have made the ultimate sacrifice in the battle to rid the world of the dreadful unseen enemy.

When all this Covid-madness is over and the world returns to normal should we not be honouring those who have perished in the fight to rid our world of the viral warrior?

In my opinion the brave ones in the NHS who died during the fight against this terrible pandemic should be honoured and recognised in some way. So my good self asks the question ‘should there be a national memorial, possibly in London, created to honour those who made the ultimate sacrifice during the Covid war?‘

What do you think?

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