I sympathise with those who are suffering, but please stop making me apologise for being middle class

None of us can be shielded from facing hardship at this time, even if it is worse for those in less fortunate positions

As unexpected as the scale of this pandemic has been, its impact on society is perhaps more shocking than we'd anticipated, nowhere more so than when it comes to how we live. The coronavirus lockdown has exposed aspects of middle class lifestyles that might otherwise go unnoticed. Location and whether or not you have access to garden space highlights Britain’s class divide. While living in a city like London has its perks with excellent transport links and beautiful parks, for example, access to a garden or personal outdoor space highlights the gulf between the advantaged and disadvantaged.

Where and how you shop for food is significant too. While some are unable to forego awfully long queues for access to Aldi, others may have immediate access to almost empty M&S Food Halls located just next door. Then there’s the ability to work from home and whether or not your profession affords this advantage. While it may be argued that the middle classes have more access to that luxury, not all professions can be performed there, i.e. if you’re a dentist or optometrist.

How we spend our free time during lockdown; from baking banana bread, planting seeds in the garden or having barbecues to hosting book-club meet-ups via Zoom draws special attention to class. Our experiences throughout this lockdown are ultimately fashioned by where we fit within the British class system; defined by our tastes, upbringing, education, occupation, income and lifestyle.

It's fair to say that most of my quarantine habits mirror much of life pre-lockdown, albeit without the daily school run and trip to the office. Except that now, we are being judged and shamed for the lifestyles that we have built for ourselves.

I find myself considering where to sit in my own home for the multiple video calls that have replaced the humble voice call, so as not to display any signs of a bookshelf, new kitchen or garden space. Opting for a plain white background in a spare room for future video calls or withholding how I really spent my free time is certainly something that I ponder, but why should I shift behaviours that I have become accustomed to?

And it's not just intrusive calls either. What people choose to share on social media is heavily scrutinised and misjudged. The lockdown lays bare the experience from the working classes right through to the upper-middle classes, with TV personality Alesha Dixon having to clarify that she was pictured in her huge garden, not sunbathing in a park, following a swathe of criticism across social media.

I wrote for The Telegraph about my children’s school continuing to charge a full price for a pared-down service during the summer term. Despite the fact that the school went on to announce 10 to 30 per cent discounts, I received a barrage of disapproval on social media with many sharing violin memes. This assumption that we are excluded from facing inequality in light of the coronavirus and its impact on livelihoods is rampant. But it's not true. If you are, like me, self-employed or running a small to medium business, you aren't protected from taking a likely immediate hit on cash flow just because of your background.

Irrelevant of class, none of us are shielded from facing hardship at this time, even if it is exacerbated for those in a less fortunate position.

We are living in extraordinary times. With covid-19 and its threat to our liberty, we should be able to do so without the torment of being class shamed for trying to get through this lockdown like anyone else.