From Jofra Archer To Michael Gove: Why Do Men Seem To Take Coronavirus Less Seriously Than Women?

Today it was announced that England cricketer Jofra Archer has been excluded from the Second Test against the West Indies after breaching the game’s bio-secure protocols (essentially, he broke lockdown).

The 25-year-old went to his Brighton home between the first Test in Southhampton and the second in Manchester, when all players were supposed to quarantine between the tests. He will have to isolate for five days and take to separate negative Coronavirus tests before he’s allowed to play again.

At the end of June Watford footballer Andre Gray was dropped from the side for hosting a party for 20 mates at his house - and posting pics of it on Instagram. His teammates Domingos Quina and Nathaniel Chalobah were also thought to be at the party and were also dropped from the side. In the videos, the players can be seen playing football on the artificial pitch in his garden, and sitting close to each other.

And at the weekend the government's confusing message about whether or not you need to wear face masks in shops reached new levels of insanity when Liz Truss was photographed walking into a Pret in Westminster wearing a face mask just eight minutes apart from Michael Gove who... was not. But actually, is what we've dismissed as chaotic government messaging actually a microcosm of another issue; that (some) men refuse to take Coronavirus, lockdown, social distancing, wearing a face mask and staying safe as seriously as (most) women?

Time and again, I’ve heard female friends talk about the disparities between the way they are treating the threat of coronavirus – and how their boyfriends, husbands, brothers, fathers and male friends are. The National Police Chiefs’ Council also revealed that 82% of the fines handed out for coronavirus lockdown violations were to men.

‘I live with my brother and this weekend he wants to cycle two hours to his friend’s house, which inevitably means they’ll start drinking, messing about and definitely not continue social distancing – he’ll probably end up having to stay over,’ Sarah told me. ‘I’m really not happy about it.’

The ‘man flu’ jokes we’ve all shared don’t seem to apply here – instead in the face of a virus that is deadly and has shut down our lives and freedoms in an unprecedented way, it seems there’s seems a resistance (dare we say it, arrogance?) from men in believing that coronavirus could affect them. Boris Johnson continued to work from home when noticeably ill, sending video messages while looking clammy.

We know, of course that men are actually more likely to get worse symptoms and die of coronavirus, too – which makes the denial stranger.

I’ve heard about rows between couples about whether to wash the shopping, families debating whether kids should go back to school, children trying to persuade fathers to isolate, or partners to persuade their boyfriends or husbands consult the doctor and seek out testing when obviously ill – instead they’ve opted to work.

‘My friend’s had real issues with one of her male flatmates who was going out and about during lockdown even though someone in the house was ill with suspected coronavirus,’ Sian says. ‘It was very much about being annoyed that rules were stopping him doing what he wanted, and so not paying any attention to them.’

It’s not just in the UK either. When we interviewed Sex And The City creator Candace Bushnell at the beginning of the coronavirus crisis, we asked her about New York, which was hit extremely hard by the disease. When it came to observing social distancing, Bushnell noticed a sharp contrast in the way men and women approach it. ‘It’s like the men won’t move away,’ she said. ‘There’s an ego thing where men seem to be very resistant to this idea. It’s like it insults their manhood; like they’re not going to get the virus, they don’t need to do this. It’s very male thinking.’

Aside from the police fines statistics, all of this is anecdotal. But, now that we’re ‘all in it together’ and our actions in hand-washing and self-isolating can literally save or kill someone, more than ever we need to be conscious in looking after our own health and thinking about the direct impact it could have on others. Ego and privileged attitudes have no place in keeping us all safe.

So, for once, for the good of society, maybe it’s time for women to start giving out patronising platitudes and telling the men in their lives to ‘Calm down dear’ when they attempt to leave the house when they shouldn’t. Men, when it comes to coronavirus, please, know your limits, yeah?

Read more: Life and Love In Coronvirus Times