A side effect of the coronavirus is that it has turned our friends, family, colleagues and others we may normally interact with face-to-face into potential threats – hence the need to stay at home as much as possible.
However, we are social animals, and need our connections more than ever during lockdown and in the socially distant world that will undoubtedly follow when restrictions are eased.
I have taken a lead from my children, who despite not yet being in their teens have already mastered Zoom chats with friends, Skype calls with family, YouTube activities with Joe Wicks and Gareth Malone, and many more ways of interacting digitally, staying healthy and learning new skills. They were early adopters of all that technology has to offer, which has encouraged me to organise things like family video chats and virtual pub sessions with old friends, keeping me connected to the people I care most about. It turned out to be so simple that we are all wondering why we haven’t done it before. If you are lucky enough to have a garden, then perhaps tormenting the weeds may be your way of staying physically active, but it can be too easy to become mentally isolated: that’s where the magazine can help.
This month we have a mix of articles about the pandemic and other actuarial work. Matthew Edwards and Stuart McDonald feature again (p16), this time critically examining claims that the majority of COVID-19 deaths would have happened anyway. On a different topic, I would recommend you read Russ Bowdrey’s article (p32) on cutting through climate uncertainty, and not letting perfection be the enemy of the good when it comes to taking decisive action. The fact that we have a public health crisis does not mean the climate emergency has gone away.
Enjoy the issue, and look after yourselves and others.
Dan Georgescu
Editor