Around him, colleagues were falling ill; on the employee grapevine, people said it was the coronavirus.

他周围的同事都在生病；员工中传着的小道消息，说是因为新冠病毒。

I ought rather to write that I should have been alarmed if I had had energy and concentration enough to help me to the clear perception of any truth beyond the fact that I was falling very ill.

我更应该写的是，如果我有足够的精力和注意力来帮助我清楚地了解我病得很重这一事实之外的任何真相，我应该会感到震惊。