News that British Prime Minister Boris Johnson has now been hospitalised, 10 days or so after testing positive for the coronavirus, must have been received with a lot of worry in all world capitals. For one thing, it raises serious questions about the type of environment world leaders should be kept in till the pandemic is controlled. PM Johnson would no doubt spend his work and home hours in a far cleaner environment than most ordinary mortals. After contracting the virus, especially, he would no doubt have been given the best treatment possible. Yet not only did he catch it, he also did not improve in ten days, and now news of his hospitalisation has raised all sorts of questions in all corners of the world. Who can be kept safe, after all, if even heads of states cannot be properly protected? For another thing, voices will now be raised in favour of creating B-team in ruling parties to fill necessary positions in case really important leaders begin to show up at hospitals. There is more than a fair degree of anxiety in London at the moment, and understandably so. One reason is that there’s really no telling who the Tory party might want to stand in line incase another contender is really needed for more than a very short term. One of the bigger problems that can be caused by all this is yet another crash of the economy. The UK economy hasn’t seen really good times in a while now. And, should the virus spread in the cabinet, there is the very real fear that British equity and currency markets might just go through the floor. Nobody should forget that there’s still no way to know when the long journey back to normal will even begin. That particular process can only begin once there’s a medical breakthrough and a vaccine is developed. And even if one is developed, no matter how soon, it will still be another 12-18 months before any medicine can come to market according to America’s Food and Drug Administration (FDA). Considering the unprecedented nature of this crisis, governments across the world should make contingency plans in case senior leaders are incapacitated. They must also spread as much clarity as they can about their policies because uncertainty causes worse panic than bad news, both among people and the market. *