Gig Pandemic

I heard something interesting and disturbing on the radio yesterday.

Now, if we do get cases of coronavirus spreading to the UK, the advice is to steer clear of the doctor's surgery and self-isolate for a period of at least two weeks.

Think about someone who is in the gig economy with a zero hours contract, or a self-employed person with a low income and no chance of sick-pay or even statutory sick pay. If they don't turn up for work they simply don't get paid. If they don't get paid, they may miss rent payments and even not be able to put food on the table - these people are living on the edge. Taking two, three or four weeks off at the first sign of a cough and a sniffle is not an option - the temptation for these workers will be to continue working, thereby spreading the virus far and wide.

Hospitals too are staffed by many people on such low wages that they might not even qualify for SSP. Taking time off for sickness is so frowned upon in the NHS that it has almost reached being a disciplinary procedure. As a consequence, hospitals could themselves become virus hot spots.

If an epidemic does break out in the UK, steer well clear of your Amazon delivery driver, don't hail a taxi and don't go near a hospital...

Certain pundits are maintaining that the UK is well prepared for an outbreak, and that may be true in terms of processes and procedures. While certain people hail the gig economy for providing people with work, albeit low paid and with no guarantees, it has made us particularly susceptible to a pandemic and very few have considered this in their evaluation.