A Winter without the common cold or flu

Have you noticed how the common cold or even the flu is nowhere near as prevelant this winter ? Every year you know of friends or family who have been struck down with a cold of some description, especially during the weeks after Christmas. I haven’t heard of anyone coming down with a cold. This year there appears to only be one show in town. Covid19.

In fact in the USA this winter, according to Statista.com, the total number of deaths from flu has dropped from 22,000 last year to 9,012 this winter !! Ive used the USA because UK data is impossible to find, but the trend must be similar.

This has got to be down to not only the lockdown but the social distancing, the increase in personal hygiene, the lack of commuter traffic and the prevelance of people working from home.

My early working years were spent on building sites. Outdoors most of the time in all weathers. I loved it. And in 5 years i never got a cold. Then as soon as i went to work in an office block guess what ? I was getting colds every year. It would travel around the building like an invisible snake playing tick with all the victims. And of course nobody went off sick. Its only a cold, they’d say. Battle on.

Well i wonder if the phrase ” it’s only a cold” will ever be used again ? Will the office of the future be more aware of viruses and their spread ? Will we be encouraged to isolate for even the most minor of illnesses ? How will we know its just a cold and not something more deadly ?

6 thoughts on “A Winter without the common cold or flu

  1. Same here!! I work in a nursing home and even there nobody came down with a cold or the flu! Makes me wonder what will happen once we’ll be allowed to come together again..

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