Princess Anne and his brother Prince Edward, along with the Earl of Wessex's wife, Sophie, the Countess of Wessex, are going to be busy with royal engagements this week amid the coronavirus scare. The Queen's cousins, Duke & Duchess of Gloucester, Prince Richard and Birgitte, have also lined up some work for the Crown.
According to reports, Prince Edward will be the busiest royal from March 16 to 21 with at least seven engagements. He will be attending two events in Buckingham Palace and he will also be traveling to Dorset as well as the Isle of Wright.
The Earl of Wessex will be joined by the Countess of Wessex in some of these events. Sophie is also going to have her own royal engagement at the London College of Fashion on March 19.
Princess Anne, on the other hand, has five engagements on her calendar from March 16 to 18. Most of these are receptions happening within London.
Prince Richard, the Duke of Gloucester, has three engagements and all of it is happening in one day, on March 18, at West Sussex. His wife, Birgitte, also has an engagement on the same date in London
There was been no cancellation or changes in the schedule diaries of these royals and it could raise their risks for catching the deadly COVID-19 virus. The Duke and Duchess of Gloucester are in their early 70s, while Princess Anne is almost 70. The Earl and Countess of Wessex are in their late 50s and might not be considered high-risks compared to the elderly royals.
At this rate, the U.K. government has not imposed a community quarantine or lockdown amid the rising number of cases. BBC, however, reported that such a directive might be in place for the over-70s in the coming weeks.
Over 35 people from the U.K. died due to the coronavirus pandemic and many of them are the elderly. The government is advising social distancing and self-isolation, especially for the older people and the vulnerable with immune-compromised conditions.
However, the government is also banking on herd immunity, where locals may get the disease as much as possible to build up their resistance to the virus. The government fears that the threat of coronavirus will keep coming back or return in the next winter, in the absence of an actual vaccine.
Currently, there are tests done for the vaccine. However, it will still take time before these can be commercially available.
