Deer in the COVID-19 headlights: Corona Virus Puts The Elites To The Ultimate Test

5 min readDec 16, 2020

Fabrice Florin / CC BY-SA (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0)

Much is being written about the spread of COVID-19 Coronavirus across the globe. As of today, over 350,000 cases have been reported with over 13,000 fatal outcomes. Not exactly fun and games.

But there are some facts or ideas that have not gotten any attention so far. Some of which warrant pause for thought. Here are a few.

1. Six degrees of separation

Ever heard of this phrase? Six degrees of separation refers to the idea that everyone is connected by six social connections (handshakes). For example and apparently, through a colleague of mine, I am only separated from Kevin Bacon (The American actor) by five social contacts. This means that in principle and through international travel and connections, the infection of a market stall owner in Wuhan can spread to any other citizen of this planet in a fairly small number of interactions.

From patient zero to Bolserano, Tom Hanks, an increasing number of MPs, ministers and perhaps even Boris Johnson or Donald Trump himself. COVID-19 has proven to be unstoppable and far-reaching. The six degrees of separation concept underpins the ability of viruses to spread far and wide relatively quickly.

All the way up to the halls of power.

2. The elites are not affected by COVID-19: Wrong!

While we are up in the halls of power, let us talk about the irony that lies in their failure to act on irrefutable evidence. The conscious decision not to take strong and action early while facing an obvious and imminent threat to public health.

It has backfired

3. Deer caught in headlights?

It is those in that very elite that have faced the consequences of their inaction. Whether getting infected by COVID-19 or the realisation that their leadership and abilities are under immense scrutiny. Defeating this virus is a huge undertaking. It will lay bare any indifference or incompetence that underpins poor decision making.

Trust in government directives and the levels of compliance that flows from it, will become an important and undeniable measure of effective and trustworthy leadership. If any, what will be the population’s attention span?

After a decade of austerity and brutal dismantlement of public services, there is little question about that the “deer caught in the headlights” notion applies. The warnings have always been there. The plights of health workers and indeed many other public service workers have been on display for even longer.

The pandemic is only starting and the worse is yet to come. Sadly, it is likely that the COVID-19 onslaught will be significant and indifferent to social status. Those considering themselves privileged may feel less so in the coming months.

Deer in the COVID-19 headlights: Corona Virus Puts The Elites To The Ultimate Test

1. Six degrees of separation

2. The elites are not affected by COVID-19: Wrong!

3. Deer caught in headlights?

Written by Tariq Jamil