So, in these exceptional circumstances, I am going to break my own rule against bad classics analogies and offer some lessons from the Antonine Plague:

1. Don't flee the cities.

Already we have reports of people packing up their camper-vans and heading to the Highlands. This is irresponsible in itself as it may bring the virus to new and vulnerable communities.

But I also mean, more profoundly, don't lose confidence in the city as a way of living. For all its drawbacks, urban life is good for us. After Roman elites stopped investing in the cities, it was not possible to reverse the economic, social and artistic decline of the Empire.

2. Stop panic buying.

Putting sudden unnecessary pressure on long distance supply lines at a time when they are already facing labour difficulties is a sure fire way to induce a real crisis of confidence in the food supply, as the people of Rome and Alexandria rapidly found out after the annona, or civic grain supply, effectively ceased to function. The supermarket shelves will be restocked. There will be food tomorrow, unless you are selfish.

3. Buying local has many virtues.

These virtues include bringing support to self employed people who have little other resource in a crisis like this. But also remember the virtues of long distance trade - not only is it often cheaper than local goods, but the local alternatives to production for export in other countries may be far worse for workers.

Aside from which, even if you are able to buy local, the less well off might not be. The consumption of the rich cross-subsidises the lifestyle of the poor. The wealthy people who lived in the "hundred great houses" of Pompeii created a concentrated demand for wine, oil and fish sauce that justified bringing cheap food to the poor families living in places like the eastern tenement in Herculaneum. Local consumption is a form of luxury in itself.

So buy local, and buy long distance. Aim for the best ethical balance between them.

4. Do not tolerate millenarianism.

Anyone who suggests that the virus is a natural or even necessary response to the way humans have treated the planet is invoking an ancient and dangerous tradition. The quasi-religious groups who sprung up in the late Empire advocated a return to nature, withdrawal from existing economic and political institutions, and a major transformation of society. The transformation they got was paid for in bloodshed.

Millenarianism is not the same as asking reasonable questions about whether our modern way of living has made us more vulnerable to pandemics or to other global environmental crises. It is also not a trivial belief - if allowed to acquire social influence it can be very destructive. So the next time your eccentric relative or friend muses on how we could have avoided the effects of the virus if we had only "kept balance with nature", call them out on it.

5. Wealthy or institutionally powerful should be more forgiving.

If you are wealthy or institutionally powerful, bear some of the strain. Forgive debts and unpaid rents. Retain staff who are unable to work, either because they are unwell or isolating, or because their workplaces have had to close down due to lack of demand. If necessary allow your cash reserves to run down. Turn your resources towards new social needs, like the French perfumeries and German distilleries now making alcohol based sanitiser for hospitals.

Roman literary sources are replete with families of the Senatorial or equestrian class who did not pull their weight. Not only did it rarely end well for them, it undermined social confidence in the economy as a whole.

Don't be a Roman. Think about how your individual behaviour impacts on the institutions that tie our economy and society together. If you do, the short term effects will be less severe, the recovery will be quicker and stronger, and the psychological pain less enduring.