Along with sporting references they are the easiest to apply to almost any scenario.

However, given the scale of the collective impact Covid-19 is having on our society, the wartime examples are entirely apposite.

If the outbreak of Covid-19 was the surprise attack that led us into conflict then the lockdown represents the strategic withdrawal.

Last week’s column saw me stick my head above the parapet and say that the shutdown, while currently necessary, cannot continue for much longer without causing seismic destruction to our very way of life.

I still maintain that an exit strategy needs to be outlined by Government as a matter of urgency.

With the Office of Budget Responsibility forecasting a brutal contraction of as much as 35 per cent in our economy and as many as two million jobs lost as a result, we have a scenario on the horizon that will make the recession seen after the Financial Crisis look like a mere hiccup.

Michael Lewis ran through what caused that particular financial crash in his outstanding book The Big Short, later dramatized as a Hollywood blockbuster.

In that film Brad Pitt’s character lambasts two investment bankers for celebrating as they shorted the housing market they knew was about to fail, telling them every time the unemployment rate rises one per cent that 40,000 people die as a result.

The reconstruction process of the global economy will not be easy. In fact it will rival that seen post World War II in terms of its scale.

It provides huge opportunities to do things better than before we were aware of Covid-19 but the belt-tightening will impact our ability to educate our children, heal or sick, care for our elderly and ensure business activity strong enough to generate tax receipts and employment.

That is why it is more essential than ever to move from strategic withdrawal to counter attack.

And I am very pleased to say that this attack is already underway from Yorkshire’s business community.

Last week The Yorkshire Post reported how Leeds-based medical tech firm TPP is pioneering research to identify people most at risk of succumbing to the worst effects of coronavirus, producing data that can be rolled out across the globe.

By conducting analysis of which preexisting medical conditions and medicines present a higher risk to people infected with Covid-19.

In identifying these medicines and conditions the evidence base for responding to the crisis can be massively enhanced and allow us to focus on those people who require the most attention.

TPP is not alone.

Today we reported that Avacta Wetherby-based drug developer Avacta is well ahead of schedule to with its plans to develop and manufacture a test to diagnose Covid-19, tests which can detect the infection within minutes using a respiratory sample such as saliva. This compares with current lab tests which can take several days to process.

The examples go on.

Sheffield Forgemasters has devoted its 3D printing facility to provide protective visor components for frontline NHS workers. The University of Sheffield’s Advanced Manufacturing Research Centre (AMRC), in Rotherham, is advising its industrial partners on how to design and make ventilators as quickly and efficiently as possible.

In North Yorkshire, Mowden Controls is manufacturing the electronics for oxygen monitors used in a breathing aid that can help keep coronavirus patients out of intensive care.

This past week I have been more proud than ever before to be business editor of The Yorkshire Post. This region is showing every sign that its capacity for innovation and excellence may very well be limitless.

And when the shutdown restrictions begin to ease and we do begin rebuilding, I have no doubt whatsoever that Yorkshire once again will be on the front lines.

Yorkshire firms leading the counter attack to our current crisis - Mark Casci