To address the coronavirus crisis, one has to weigh up how to save people without destroying the economy.

Then there is the added dimension of all the health initiatives which are being formulated on the run. The dramatic economic impacts of these public health initiatives are considered a reasonable price to pay to save lives.

The economic impacts also risk destroying the livelihoods of many individuals and families. They may well lead to the demise of some businesses and individuals.

Every course of possible action has its own unseen dangers. The government will be criticised regardless of what it does.

Commonsense is usually to be found somewhere in the middle between two extremes. It seems to me this government is steering that course.

That said, taking the middle ground will still attract just as much criticism, if not more. This is because many people are either all one way or the other. They see any compromise as a "half-measure".

For the first time, I am beginning to feel sorry for ScoMo. He has been presented with a no-win situation.

The ABC and the National Press Club provided a great forum on Wednesday for acknowledged experts to advise the media and citizens on their fields of expertise in addressing questions on the coronavirus.

Professor Jodie McVernon, Director of Epidemiology at the Doherty Institute, went into great detail when explaining how widespread modelling by many agencies throughout Australia and overseas is ensuring government is receiving the best advice available on protecting us from this pandemic.

When questioned by a reporter on what the modelling was showing for the future of the pandemic in Australia, she stonewalled. It seemed she was not about to tell Australians how bad this was pandemic could become.

Pressed harder by the reporter, she stated categorically she would not disclose what the modelling indicated.

By not being forthright Professor McVernon has left viewers with the impression the future is really scary; perhaps as bad as that already experienced in other countries or worse.

If that is the case we need to know. Australians will take the COVID-19 pandemic much more seriously if they are told the truth.

Just before the virus-inspired ban on large gatherings came into force, Canberra had a very successful week-long Night Noodle Market, Enlighten and hot air balloon festival on the lawns near Old Parliament House.

With NCA approval, this involved scores of two tonne vehicles delivering the balloons at dawn followed by over 300,000 people attending the night time activities.

When the current crowd restrictions are over, would it be too much to ask for the NCA to reconsider their ban on the holding of the occasional classic car display at the same venue?

Front line medical staff are in a difficult position because of the shortage of test kits.

There are strict rules about who can be tested. If you visit a clinic with your symptoms, but do not meet the criteria, don't panic. Stop and have a think.

There is no treatment. If you were tested and found positive you would simply be sent to home isolation.

If you are confident you have contracted the virus don't waste time abusing the poor worker. Go away and put yourself into home isolation. Problem solved.

If you feel better in a few days you can self-release without all the bureaucracy. If it turns out you had correctly diagnosed yourself, you will have the satisfaction of ringing the authorities and telling them you were right.

In the meantime you have been a good citizen and not infected others. Good on you.

Re: "But it's discrimination..." (Letters, March 20). A disabled person (one armed, blind, wheelchair bound etc.) may require the community shopping hour as, because they are physically less capable, they might not fare as well in a knife-fight in a supermarket aisle.

Look, I'm loath to sound trite here, but it's in straitened times that we need to be even more selfless. So, let's try our best to ensure our pantries are less full, our wallets less fat, and our toilet rolls ... well, you know. This is called social "vaccination".

(Dr) A. Thomson (Letters, March 20) asks: "Why haven't passenger planes, trains and buses been stopped from entering and leaving Canberra?".

Perhaps it's because most interstate visitors arrive by car.

For the first time ever no one in the AFL crowd will doubt an umpire's eyesight or call them a white maggot.

It only took a worldwide crisis to achieve this.

The RAAF owns eight C-17 Globemaster transports.

That is enough heavy lift capacity to bring home a regiment of stranded Australians from any place on earth. Chile, for example.

While I can understand all the motivations for avoiding school closures, I remain unconvinced by the rationale, unless we are sure that children are not silent transmitters of the coronavirus.

We seem to know that they suffer less if they contract it than older people do, and it is claimed they are less likely to get it, and that perhaps they don't transmit it as easily as older people.

But without widespread testing it not clear to me that we know how many people actually have this virus, or who is capable of spreading it.

A main issue with this particular virus appears to be that it can be caught from people who never develop signs of illness. This is why early, aggressive intervention is critical.

As a general rule, schools and child care centres are notorious spreaders of disease. Even if school children do not get sick themselves, they are sure-fire sources of contagion in the broader community.

Do we know that COVID-19 is the exception?

Thomas Natera (Letters, March 18) doesn't think anyone would not be praising the government's handling of the COVID-19 virus and the economy.

I am not praising Morrison and his government.

Their response to both, as with the bushfires, has been too little too late. I believe Morrison has selfishly used this disaster to try to regain some political credibility.

I am sick of seeing him, and other politicians, in front of flags pretending they have the situation in hand.

They don't.

I just want to hear expert advice and truth about the situation and how we can best deal with it.

COVID-19 has revealed some worrying biases. Initially it was a blaming racism towards people of Asian, especially Chinese, origin.

Now it seems that a patronising ageism is emerging.

For example, the oldies shopping debacle. Perhaps well-meaning people (but not Baby Boomers) decided the over 70s could have a special "oldies only" early shopping time.

It doesn't matter if the older shoppers wanted this or not, or if some other generations needed to shop at that time too.

More serious, and so upsetting I almost forgot to use my hand sanitiser, was a call for euthanasia of old people with dementia who clog up nursing homes (J Sweeney, Letters, March 18).

No person should ever have the right to decide whether another person lives or dies. The expectation of a peaceful and cared-for period at the end of life is normal, humane, and befitting of an intelligent and sophisticated society.

It would be bad if doctors and other health care professionals were expected to end life.

I'm optimistic that our educated, tough, resilient population can stay united and not fall into a blame and knee jerk reactivity.

Email: letters.editor@canberratimes.com.au. Send from the message field, not as an attachment. Fax: 6280 2282. Mail: Letters to the Editor, The Canberra Times, PO Box 7155, Canberra Mail Centre, ACT 2610.

Keep your letter to 250 or fewer words. References to The Canberra Times reports should include date and page number. Letters may be edited. Provide phone number and full home address (suburb only published).

To send a letter via the online form, click or touch here.