"The Virus", stick with the facts, you may get it, you will probably be fine, but the people you infect may not be.

The virus is interfering with our ability to look at the facts, it is playing on vulnerabilities especially for people with kids.

This is a great time to show leadership at work and at home.

The irrational behavior is as a Psychologist commentated on the ABC yesterday actually rational. So people are buying toilet paper ( you can't eat it, it does not protect you from a virus, humans got by for 100,000 years plus with out it!) because it makes them feel more in control of their situation.

People are looking to feel more in control or safer.

In the building trades it is making it harder to get dust masks, I was with a construction company today whose supplier is only letting his contacts by 60 at a time off line. A single builder can use 4 or 5 a day in a basement, in a roof, sanding, concreting etc, those masks don't stop the Corona Virus so please stop buying them. In the travel business like any office you are in shared space and there is no way to avoid the public but there is lots you can do help people feel more in control.

It is hard to hear the simple messages through the anxiety, especially in a 24 hour news cycle.

Simple messages like, hand sanitizer is no substitute for soap and water used correctly, but remember to dry your hands. In my case hand sanitizer makes me feel good, like I am on my game, but it does not get rid of dirt or importantly fecal matter (yuk, but how do you say it nicely) and is not good at breaking down organic compounds (oils etc) on your hands, it also can dry out the skin leaving it vulnerable. Good sanitizer has huge amounts of alcohol in it which is a relgiuos issue for hundreds of millions of people globally but also the good stuff is harder to get.

Why are you mostly no better wearing a mask? Well first if you must wear one then note fashion masks (the black ones you see all over Australian capital cities and Asia, don't offer any protection against the virus). Only medical grade ones offer some protection and in the medical world they are single use, yes one off. Doctors and nurses dont take them off to have coffee, then put them back on, they dont leave them in their bags at work, god knows when the insides of most peoples bags got a clean . They don't touch the insides with un-gloved hands while getting them off an on or fiddle with them when chatting with friends. Where they do work is if you have a cough or a cold they inhibit the germs being spread by sneezing and coughing. Leave the masks to the professionals (they need them) unless they advise you to get some for your role or when looking after some one.

Touching your face, kissing, shaking hands, using multi touch objects like stair rails etc are challenges, so if you can, work from home otherwise avoid and minimize the shared aspects of work and commuting life in a city, it is all you can do. You can't put petrol in the car or use the ATM with out touching them but you can wear gloves, you can wash your hands and avoid touching people unnecessarily. It is simple but effective.

Should we be worried about getting it? If you are under 50 and in ok health probably not and that is most of the working population. What you should be worried about is other people, who you might give it to.

That is right if you are 50 with ageing parents in their 70s and 80s, then yes it is a tough place to be at and a real worry. How ever if your are 28, 35 or 42 the evidence says you are not likely to get the virus and die. The worry is if you give it to your 50+ Mum and Dad or to the grand parents, your colleagues or customers, they might die or get very ill, especially if they over 70.

Look at the data, thankfully almost no kids die of it (but many might have it symptom free). The mortality rate currently indicates only 0.4% of the 40 to 50 age group, it jumps to 3.6% of those over 60 (remember 3.6% is a lot of great people) but its a huge increase to 8% plus of people over 70.

So for most people the concern should be am I spreading it, are my kids spreading it, who are the vulnerable people in the family and my community that I could transmit it to?

Even fit people over 50 can get it. The reason any one who is older can get it is thought to be two fold: It is suspected that a life exposure to lung diseases , colds, coughs, smoke (even second hand) and pollutants weakens the lungs in older people making them more vulnerable to respiratory complications. Secondly, Immunosenescence which is the gradual deterioration of the immune system brought on by the natural aging process once people turn 50, bummer hey! As you get older your immune system is not as good as it once was.

So put yourself second during the virus crisis and you will probably end up doing the right thing.

One of the biggest things you can do is be an island of calm.

To stay calm ask yourself am I doing what can I do? Can we work from home, can we encourage the clients to deal with us by phone and email ? Are we washing our hands, spray and wiping the work terminals, efpos machines, tables, door handles (public and staff), kitchen areas, phones etc as much as possible.

A respiratory illness is a great opportunity to encourage staff, colleagues family and friends to quit smoking and to love their lungs. Being over weight is a harder staff, family and friend nut to raise and crack, but carrying weight is harder work on our heart and lungs.

It is a great opportunity to communicate with your team, to show leadership, to show you care. The basics count, listening, quality paper towels, good soap, clear instructions and expectations about hygiene, it never hurts to be a clean freak, this is money well spent and listening is time well invested.

It is a great opportunity to explore different work practices, to try to drive more activity online, to wind back the employee leave you are carrying on the balance sheet.

Its a great opportunity to think ahead, if the schools get closed, what if people need carers leave or get quarantined? Do you know the rules, how are you going to cope, what can you do to help people meet the family needs and how can you help the company get through this?

The results of the economic slow down globally and locally wont feed through straight away but they will. You should put some time in to thinking what will mean for my workplace, can I offer leave with out pay to staff in a slow down, what is out margin like, do we need to re think the KPIs, do I know our B.E figure, do we have a business continuity plan?

This is a great time to consider , how much inventory you are carrying, how many people owe you money and how many are at 30, 60, 90 and hopefully not 120+ days out , importantly ask yourself what am I doing to collect this. How much money do I owe, how up to date am I? The same rules apply to personal and family finances especially for those on commissions and bonuses, think about it now before it gets messy.

At home ask yourself, am I thinking about Mum and Dad, Nanna and Grumpy, am I contributing to keeping friends and family calm, am I worrying about things I can't control or getting sucked into the hype?

Pause , breath, hope and remember all things will pass but they pass faster when you act positively to manage them.