If by this you're referring to me, I was not offended and I apologise if you think my reply suggests such.

Like you, I am concerned that people take the issue seriously, but am also concerned by 'sensational' reports which purport to offer undue certainty (primarily as a result of their supposed prestige and the number of authors involved). They foment unrest when latched upon by a voracious media (the BBC are revelling in their role of doom-monger general) and, as I previously suggested, they can lead to poor decision making when used as a foundation for policy. How, for example, does one now quantify the lasting effects of Western Nations shutting down their economies? Will be the final body count be higher or lower than those afflicted (and will be afflicted) by COVID-19?

As for my personal experience, you may well be right. Indeed, even I assumed it to be flu as, no doubt, would have a doctor had I sought medical advice – at that time, COVID-19 had yet to enter the general lexicon. There, however, is the rub. Though I can describe what I experienced, you have no real understanding of it. Again, as I previously said, if it was flu, it was a flu like no other I have ever experienced. You have also ignored the incidence of my wife's sudden and coincidental episode of 'tonsillitis'.

The first recorded case in the UK may well have been January 31st, but how can we be sure that it was not here sooner and simply misdiagnosed?

P.S. I'm appreciative of your being Canadian. I checked.