As this horrible business continues to unfold, I've been happy to defer most of my decision-making to the people we call experts.

That's not something that comes easily, I must admit, but happily this time the state's level of concern seems to roughly equate with my perma-worry.

Still, I'm not the only one who is having to navigate seeming contradictions in our common sense.

The Prime Minister said stop gathering with 500 or more - but start in a couple of days. Then it became 100 - but now many events are being cancelled with far fewer.

We told to stay calm and don't panic shop - but now the shops are empty of basic essentials so those who didn't panic shop have missed out.

And while I'm at it, who bought up all the isopropyl alcohol in the state? Is there somewhere a bus full of really smug and really, really clean preppers?

For many, the main clanger seems to be with schools, and kids' sport.

We see all soccer training and games have been called off, when that involves at most 22 players spread across a 7000 square metre pitch, and it's all outdoors.

But school classes go ahead, and that has more kids (25-30) in less space (50 sq m), and it's mostly indoors?

We've heard reports of school kids deliberately coughing, or blowing raspberries, on each other - as a joke, but a pretty saliva-heavy joke. This will always happen at schools, where my kids tell me "social distancing" is hardly attempted.

Basketball is off - stadiums are locked - but public transport is still being used by thousands, gripping handles, sneezing, standing close. Which would involve a greater risk of transmission?

I'm fine with the idea of some homeschooling for a while. I'm working from home already, along with your Mercury correspondents (they're in their own homes), and online materials have been prepared for many school classes. But for many other people's jobs, having their kids at home would be a lot harder.

It would also be an awful lot of extra work for teachers, which they will end up doing long into the night, and all weekend.

Love to Tasmania, where "borders" have been tightened so all "non-essential" travellers have to do 14 days' quarantine. Up drawbridge! But hang on, the state's premier, whoever that is, said air and ship crew, and "specialists", would be exempt, to keep trade flowing.

Clearly, when managing a pandemic, decisions made by government health authorities can also influenced by economic, practical, and social realities, in some kind of balance.

Yes, school is essential, but kids will be kids, so "social distancing" is an impossibility. The decision to keep schools open clearly involves economic imperatives on top of medical.

So if we're going to have school stills operating, can we have a chat to the sporting associations about getting the weekend games back on? I'll even watch from the hill with the oldies.