Hi – and welcome to my first blog post. Don’t worry it’s going to be short and sweet. This is the view from the window of my apartment. I like it, I’m lucky.
However, it’s going to feature big-time in my life in the coming weeks as I am in virtual lockdown here in the UK. Along with more than 2.5 billion others, a third of the world’s population. But the great news is that all of us can turn our restricted local windows into global ones through the magic of the internet.
So now I’m able to share links to three high-quality primary-sources to help us understand and process what is happening to our world. The first perspective is provided by a reliable and accurate database detailing the growth of the virus across the world.
I know many have already found this to be a useful tool to analyse the shifting global narratives as the virus continues to spread. Note there is a column recording the number of recovered cases. This can give us a little much-needed encouragement during these difficult days.
Second, I recommend this interview by TED TALKS with Bill Gates giving his international take on the disease.
Third, here is a forward-looking essay in the Financial Times by Yuval Noah Harari, the thought-provoking author of Sapiens and Homo Deus.
If you want to send your own lockdown view, please connect with me on my social media pages.
globalwindow 
Keith hi. Good initiative. I think the John Hopkins info centre looks good https://coronavirus.jhu.edu/ tho who knows what % of cases are going unreported…
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Love the starting point – view from your window – so appropriate in this times.
Some conspiracy theorists have blamed Bill Gates for starting covid-19 or say that he is looking to cash in with a vaccine.
I therefore couldn’t wait to hear what Bill had to say in the TED Talk. Bill gave a sobering and thoughtful take on the challenges we now face.
There was nothing alarmist other than Bill saying wealthy countries would bounce back but, poor countries may need vaccines to help, if it turns out that covid-19 is seasonal.
I do worry that rather than focussing in systemic change to modernise sub-Saharan Africa, we are too quick to promote vaccine solutions.
Otherwise, this is a timely and welcomed blog.
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Great blog Keith, thanks for your ever-thoughtful work. As a southern-hemispherian, I appreciate Bill and Chris’s advice to listen and watch the north so we can learn from their experience. I’m also concerned about the effects of seasonality as we approach flu season here, with flu vaccine shortages already forecast.
I’ve also been thinking a lot about the probable link between air quality and physiological response to the virus.
It may be that we can use this to encourage governments to be more effective in regulating industry, a silver lining surely.
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