It's not exactly a war, of course. But it would have been something like this during the Blitz, except in reverse. Now London carries on as normal, while in the country it is just like a war. The mood veers suddenly between cheeriness and bouts of panic.
Hard information is negligible.
Rumours spread even quicker than the virus. Everyone knows someone who has heard about some scam or other. There is a universal contempt for authority, though much of the criticism is contradictory. Deep down, in a very British way, people want to do the right thing. Whatever that is.