Provinces in Indonesia begin to relax the regulations around social distancing. People have begin a return to offices and Malls prepare for visitors. From the various WA and e-mail groups that I am in, it is clear that opinion is absolutely divided on the effectiveness of what government has so far done and whether the timing for changes is right.

Last week, the UK began re-opening primary schools, permitted friends to visit other friends and meet outdoors. Today, passenger arrivals will be required to self-quarantine for 14-days ( unless you are among a baffling group of exceptions). Next week, non-essential shopping can happen, masks must be worn on public transport and places of worship can be visited for “personal prayer”. Again, there is much criticism - “too late”, “too soon”, “confusing”.

My point is that there are few countries in the world whose populations have absolute confidence and trust in the way their leaders are handling the battle against COVID-19. That usually means it will inevitably be down to the common sense of ordinary people to maintain the disciplines associated with the consistent high level messaging, namely around personal hygiene and avoiding close contact with miscellaneous folk.

Regardless of perceptions of devils in public policy detail, we sincerely hope that our BritCham communities will continue to apply safety-first common sense.