“The other reason is that the virus can last on hard surfaces for up to three days, so even if the streets have been deserted for an entire 48 hours, anything you touch could have the virus on it.”

Coronavirus denial

But why do we go into denial when a crisis like coronavirus happens? I spoke to David Brudö CEO and co-founder at mental wellbeing and personal development app Remente about how common this type of reaction is, and as Brudö explains, it’s deeply ingrained within us.

“A study by Nature Communications found that our fear of uncertainty is so ingrained in us that we actually prefer pain over uncertainty so, of course, we would rather deny uncertainty than face it,” says Brudö.

He continues to explain that in psychology the term denialism means to “avoid or deny reality as a way to avoid a psychologically uncomfortable truth”. Covid-19 is presenting itself for many people as nuisance to daily life: working from home, unable to socialise, transport issues. But this is just the surface.

The psychology of denial: still struggling to get your head around coronavirus?