If you’re finding yourself staring into space, wondering what the right thing is to do about the third wave of COVID, you’re not alone.
Premier John Horgan’s words—and his general lack of clarity and context—in his April 19 announcement prove that, so far, he has been willing to do everything except what needs to be done to stop the spread of the third wave. Spending money to install signs along the BC/Alberta border reminding residents to stay home is, at this point in the pandemic, an absolute joke. Periodic roadblocks to make sure people are in their own health authority sounds, um, strange but possibly helpful, although I can’t help but wonder what difference it’s going to make. It’s like prescribing the wrong antibiotics for an infection.
Meanwhile, a buddy of mine who works in the restaurant industry is going on four hours of work a week, making barely enough to cover minimum payments on his credit card. While he watches the debt pile up, he can’t apply for EI because he hasn’t technically been laid off. (If you do have some money to spare and like eating out, leave a larger-than-usual cash tip for the waitress and cooks, because it’s about the only help they’re getting.)
While I’ve been very vocal in the past about how helpful lockdowns can be, half- assed lockdowns aren’t helpful. They put people in impossible positions like the one above, isolate everyone even more, and, in my opinion, do little to actually decrease numbers.
We’re in our third wave. This is just part of life right now, and, like many of us, my fingers are crossed that the vaccine works before the variants win.
For the time being, the sun is out. People are out walking, or they’re sitting and laughing outdoors at cafes, sipping drinks, and, at least it would appear to an onlooker, having a half-decent time.
Over the weekend, I ate out for almost every meal. More than throwing caution to the wind, I threw cash to the wind. It was expensive, but I’ve been fortunate enough to have a steady job throughout all of this; I wanted to see what this little dose of normalcy would do for my mental health. It was wonderful. And all the while, I wasn’t breaking any health orders.
So, what if we’ve finally found our happy medium? I hope we have, because I sure had a good time over the weekend within the public health guidelines, and for the first time in over a year, felt pretty much like a normal person living in normal times. (Sure, the sudden dose of summer-like spring heat probably helped a lot.)
Then Monday hit.
The fact that there was almost 3,000 new cases in BC from April 16 to 19 proves that this happy medium likely won’t last long. But the government needs to guide us through to recovery effectively. Don’t put up signs and tell people that they can socialize outside, but they shouldn’t. “Just because you can doesn’t mean you should” is horrible, and confusing, public policy. Provincial health officer Bonnie Henry loves to use the weather as a metaphor; call me a pessimist, but I think clouds in the form of 2,000-plus cases a day are coming soon. And how do we get through that, economically and socially, while we wait for those vaccine vials to work their magic?
The trouble is, that shouldn’t be for me to say. The government needs to make a decision, and it needs to make it properly. Because at this point in our third wave, the measures they are taking are pathetic.
A toddler in BC died because of COVID over the weekend, but, sure, put up more signs. That will help.