The skin on my hands is starting to resemble filo, or phyllo, pastry because of all the washing. Apart from anxiously reading the updates there seems to be little else to do to pass the time. Except possibly moisturising. Current favourites on an extremely heavy rotation:

Aesop Reverence Aromatique Hand Wash
The one with vetiver, Petitgrain and finely milled pumice for mild scrubbing action. Get the big tub because it’s better value for money and because obviously.

Aesop Reverence Aromatic Hand Balm
Stick a tub of this next to the hand wash and you’re good.

Byredo travel size tube in Bibliothèque and a larger in Suede. Carry everywhere, wash hands all the time, apply moisturiser, keep slipping the mobile phone because greasy hands.

Then reading. I recommend basically everything, with the exception of fantastical tabloid media. We absolutely need none of that in the current situation. I will not advise you on trustworthy media (except that it is not Twitter. It is not Twitter under any circumstances), but would think that the World Health Organisation is quite high up there, especially in comparison to everybody of this world who overnight became experts in epidemiology and started sharing their views on social media.

The mood is admittedly strange – I just met with a friend at a hotel lobby bar and the only other customer was a priest*, quietly eating his caesar salad. It quite possibly would have been amusing in any other situation.

I will revert with further reading recommendations, but now shall retreat to ponder why is it that people obsessively stock up on toilet paper. It is admittedly highly annoying to run out of it, but so is running out of toothpaste, and many other things.

* Not a hot priest, I shall quickly add.