While the move to home working may have slowed the pace for some, it is fair to say it is absolutely relentless at the moment for news teams across the country.
During my career, the closest I can say we have got to this was covering the collapse of Lehman Brothers and the Global Financial Crisis. But that pales into comparison with this rapidly evolving story which encompasses all parts of our daily lives.
Let us just pause for a minute to consider just how quickly this situation has deteriorated in the past week alone. It seems a long time ago but the Budget was only last Wednesday. Then, Chancellor Rishi Sunak pledged £30bn to help tackle the Coronavirus impact.
Only a week later, the package announced yesterday was a huge £330bn of Government-backed loans plus other measures totalling £350bn to tackle the economic fallout of the pandemic with the Chancellor saying: "Never in peacetime have we faced an economic fight like this one."
There is some comfort for homeowners and businesses here but Sunak admitted there is no knowing at this stage how much further support will be needed. The Government has pledged to do 'whatever it takes' to protect its people and the economy ,but there is no sense at the moment of the full scale of what it may have to do.
This uncertainty and the feeling the Government has not done enough at this point has been reflected in the market response today, with the FTSE 100 down 5% at lunchtime and the FTSE 250 down 5.7%.
Commentators fear even this substantial package of measures may not be enough at his point. Kevin Doran, chief investment officer at AJ Bell, notes that "what is missing is any real help to fill in the production chasm that is coming our way over the next few months", while Edward Park, deputy CIO at Brooks Macdonald, comments: "The UK market reaction has been lacklustre as investors do not want the economic impact of coronavirus deferred by interest free loans but want to see direct stimulus via helicopter money."
The Government also knows this will be a marathon not a sprint and has to keep options in reserve for when they may be needed further down the line.
Meanwhile, alongside the news of high street names such as Laura Ashley and Carphone Warehouse going under, the other big story has been the domino run of suspensions of UK commercial property funds. They have been forced to suspend as a result of current "turbulent market conditions" making it impossible to accurately value property holdings.
Under FCA rules, applying to funds investing in inherently illiquid assets, such as commercial property, funds with more than 20% of their portfolio subject to material valuation uncertainty are required to suspend subscriptions and redemptions in the interests of all investors.
The move has restarted the ongoing debate about whether open-ended vehicles with daily dealing are suitable for investment in illiquid assets but this is surely one to be discussed again more fully after this crisis point has passed.
So is there any good news in all this? Well, looking at those closely watched figures for China's workforce returning to work, Martin W. Hennecke, Asia investment director at St. James's Place Wealth Management, notes: "Carmakers and auto supplies are now resuming operations gradually at ground zero, Wuhan, while medical teams are being withdrawn in phases from Hubei, in more signs that the epidemic has been brought under control in the country and its hardest hit region.
"Closer to home, in Guangdong, nearly 94% of the 15,000 monitored enterprises have resumed work, with more than 83% of the employees in the sector having returned to their positions."
Some light at the end of the tunnel, then, to focus on as the UK battens down the hatches for now.
Finally before I sign off today, an update from our events programme. Professional Adviser has decided to push back its flagship conference for financial advisers from April to 20 July due to safety concerns over the coronavirus pandemic.
We are grateful to all our sponsors and speakers who have unanimously agreed that the health of our delegates must take priority over any business considerations.
Join us tomorrow when COVER editor Adam Saville will be joining us to give his view on the coronavirus crisis from the protection market.
