I thought that I might begin a personal blog, reflecting on life as I have experienced it, through the coronavirus, now labeled COVID-19. The virus began in late 2019 in China but our first significant exposure to it was in Sydney, Australia on February 3, 2020. Prior to our trip to Australia, we were worried because of the massive wildfires raging throughout Australia all winter. There was massive destruction of homes, habitat, lives of people, and by some estimates the death of over a billion animals. (My brother-in-law wanted to know who counted them. He is not an animal lover.) And course the incredibly difficult work of the firefighters to try to bring this under control was a topic of daily news. Air pollution in centres such as Melbourne and Sydney, both on our agenda, was a major concern as well. Even prior to that, most of 2019 included stories of demonstrations and rioting on the streets of Hong Kong for a variety of reasons, the main one being a push back to the control of the city being exerted by China. We had long layovers for our flights to and from Australia, so this would effect our safety and whether a short visit to the city during a seven hour layover would be questionable.
By the time we arrived in Hong Kong on January 26, the virus was spreading and more than half of all Asians at the airport wore protective face masks. The fires in Australia were easing a little, and we saw only a few minor fires in Tasmania. After a week in Australia, monsoon rains arrived, causing some flooding, but also ending a long drought and putting just about all the fires under control. Then on February 3, two days before we were to board a cruise out of Sydney for a two week South Seas cruise to New Caledonia, Fiji and Vanuatu, the first news arrived. Effective immediately cruise lines would no longer board any guests who had been in China or Hong Kong less than 15 days from the date of boarding. We had left Hong Kong 10 days ago. This was the first major international step taken to combat the virus. We scrambled to get any news we could, which was not a lot, but it became clear very quickly that we would not be getting on our cruise. I have to admit to a feeling of anger and high disappointment. We were in Sydney, with no accommodations or travel plans beyond February 4, because we expected to be on our cruise. We had plans to continue our vacation in Caves Beach where family lived, and Cairns following the cruise, and all hotels and flights were booked. Countless hours were spent over the next few days seeing what would happen in terms of refunds, re-booking hotels and flights, etc. We even went to a travel agent to see about doing a 7 day cruise to the South Seas islands out of Brisbane in a week's time, but the only cruise available departed 14 days after our departure date from Hong Kong, so we would not be eligible. We actually missed this cutoff by 10 minutes. We left Hong Kong at 10 minutes past midnight on January 27, and even though we boarded the plane before midnight on January 26, we would not be considered to have left before January 27. In the end, we cut our trip short by two weeks, moved all our post cruise plans up two weeks and did get refunded all the fees we incurred. When we arrived in Hong Kong on February 15 on our way home, we definitely had no desire to leave the airport during our seven hour layover. Now, almost all Asians, and even many other nationalities were wearing face masks. The airport shops were vacant of everyone except the clerks standing around with nothing to do. Flights from China were regularly being cancelled and we were extremely happy to be back on home turf. In hindsight, missing our cruise was very disappointing, but was perhaps a blessing after seeing the horror stories of some cruises where the virus spread to passengers, people were quarantined in their rooms and ships had difficulties find ports willing to accept them.
My head spins when I think of how fast things changed in the coming weeks. By March, there was no other news. Every evening news cast was filled with updates on the number of new infected cases and deaths, country by country, and daily health reports and health sanctions issued. In about a week we went from a ban on gatherings of over 250 people to gatherings of 50 people and then no more than groups of 5. International travel was cut off, borders were shut for all but essential travel, restaurants, bars, schools and many businesses closed their doors and people were advised to self-isolate, (one of many new terms created by the now pandemic), avoiding all physical contact outside of the household unit, and social distancing, a new term meaning to not come within 2 meters of another person. Grocery stores limited how many people could be in the store at a time, and line-ups went around the building to get in. Inside, people avoided come close to each other and had to use one line-up to pay for their purchases, spacing themselves out 2 meters in the line. You could not unload your buggy until the person in front of you had paid and loaded up their purchases.
Church services were closed and conducted online by mid March. For me, practicing self-isolating was not a huge adjustment as I spent most of my week at home anyway. Much of this corresponded with the start of Spring Break, so our two daughters, who both work in schools were home, although one of them had her Spring Break vacation canceled, or as I like to look at it, relocated. A day after our grandson's birthday, my son-in-law became very ill with flu-like symptoms. In accordance with health care instructions, he needed to quarantine himself to prevent the spread, especially since we had no way of knowing if it was a virus or not. He moved into my daughter's place, away from his wife and son, and my eldest daughter moved in with us for a few weeks. So she still got to go away, although this was not what she had in mind. We did get several jigsaw puzzles done though.
Since we stopped socializing with anyone outside of the immediate family, and my daughters did likewise, we were able to still stay in contact and visit my daughter and grandson, and Joanie still could babysit from time to time. This could change at any time if any one of us had contact outside the group. We still hope to do Easter dinner in a few days. Who knows how long we can do that.
April 8
One of the reasons for doing this blog at this time is that I believe we are in a very historical time. This is certainly not the first major virus in history, as all one needs to do is think of the Black Plague and the devastating loss of life it caused. Even in my own life, there have been previous pandemics and major viruses such as SARS, Zika and N1H1, but none had the impact of this one in our lifetime. At this point, only Antarctica has been spared and the daily increase in cases and deaths is staggering. It hit closer to home as well in that as of now, I have known three people who have tested positive for the COVID-19 virus and been hospitalized, including the father of a close friend of mine who recently passed within few days of displaying symptoms. I am not a fatalist but the reality can not be denied that despite all our best efforts, anyone can become infected and could die, often within a few days. That is sobering! It effects everything. We no longer go to the grocery store, leaving it to our children to do our shopping as we are considered "seniors with health issues", heart issues for me and diabetes for Joanie, so more vulnerable than others. Prior to this I only considered myself a senior when boarding a ferry midweek. (Meanwhile my almost 101 year old mother carries on.) The only time I get out of the house is for almost daily walks. However, even that is not normal. When I see someone approaching a block away, I already begin making plans to avoid them if possible, whether that means crossing the street, evaluating whether they would honour my 6 foot bubble or making sure I can get at least 6 feet away from them myself without getting hemmed up against a hedge or something. Some younger folks and children riding their bikes on sidewalks don't get it, and often do not keep their distance. I find myself getting annoyed, as both I and they are at risk.
It now seems that most of our discussions with friends and family involve COVID-19, what is going on, how we are coping, speculating on how long this could go on, etc. The nightly news is almost entirely COVID-19 stories now. Last week we dropped in at my sister's house for her 70th birthday, which could not be celebrated, as well as her 50th anniversary party in May which has also been canceled. Fortunately it was a dry day, sort of, if you ignored the odd snow flakes, so we brought our own chairs and coffee, and sat, at least 6 feet apart in the back yard. That has been our only physical contact with family. We have not seen our friends in weeks and who knows how much longer that will go on. All future plans are uncertain. A planned road trip to the Oregon Coast in May with a visitor from Netherlands was canceled. My sister and brother-in-law's anniversary celebration was canceled. Their trip to Mexico was canceled. We have a European train trip through Europe starting at the end of August all mapped out and arranged, but we have no idea whether it will happen. A trip to Bonaire in January 2021 seems to stand a better chance of happening, but even that can not be assured. I find I prefer not to look ahead too much since it can result in a lot of fretting about what ifs. I prefer to focus on the next few weeks. Our isolation will continue, Church will consist of viewing the weekly message online on Sunday mornings, where we still begin with our pattern of toast and boiled eggs, even on Easter. Beyond that, who knows.
I also believe one needs to maintain one's sanity by keeping in touch with friends and family, keeping well stocked on wine, and keeping a sense of humour. My favourite online message describes how COVID-19 has affected things and how people cope with the isolation. The woman says she saw her neighbour out in the back yard talking to her cat as though she thought the cat understood. She went inside and told her dog, and they laughed and laughed about this.
Some of the things that have surprised me in a way are:
- The run on toilet paper, tissues and cleaning products. The cleaning products I understand although I don't know how much Mr. Clean people expect to use. For weeks, the toilet paper and cleaning product isles of the grocery store have been completely bare. Lowly scum have hoarded a lot of this and tried to resell at grossly marked up prices. While everyone condemns this, I see little done to go after these people. But, considering that none of the virus symptoms include diarrhea, why do people need cases and cases of toilet paper? People are amazingly stupid and irrational. I miss my dog. We will be OK with toilet paper, but with my allergies (?) and morning sneezing and nose blowing (even my grandson shakes his head and says "Oh, Opa" when I honk.), I will soon need to do more than just cough into my sleeves. I may need to wear long sleeve shirts right into summer.
- Sports - All sports activities have been put on hold. There is no hockey, baseball, basketball, football or anything else happening and teams are not even allowed to get together to practice. Yet every day the newspaper has page after page of sports, mostly speculating on when the season may start/resume, what a shortened season or playoff may look like, how so and so from the Canucks is doing with the current situation, etc. The same things over and over. There is no sports. Move on! Come back when we have sports again. One of the football writers I follow on Twitter has resorted to commenting on Donald Trump's latest goof ups instead.
- There is a world-wide shortage of what we now call PPE, personal protection equipment, (never heard this term before last month although I am sure it was used in the health profession), including massive shortages of face masks. Up until this week, we were told that people not tested positive for the virus should not wear masks and to leave them for the front line health workers. There have not been masks available in most drug stores for some time. So why is it that so many Asians, (I am not trying to be racist but the vast majority I see are in fact Asian), have access and wear them regularly. Where did they get them? Now, when it may be too late, we are being advised that perhaps wearing masks may be a good idea.
- I have heard horror stories from people stuck on cruise ships in these last few weeks after most countries closed borders and grounded international travel. If being quarantined in a small cabin for days or weeks was not enough, many experienced hours of waiting in buses, airports, etc., being shuttled around and not being fed or given water for hours. Friends of our told of their cruise which was aborted in France. Americans were let off the ship first and spent in some cases 10 - 12 hours waiting on a bus, on the tarmac, without food or toilet facilities (some had to go find bushes to relieve themselves), before they finally departed for the airport. They got no food or drink on the long flight to the USA. All of this not that long after the airlines had travellers' rights imposed on them. If animals were treated this way, there would be a huge outcry.
- The new end to a conversation is no longer "good bye", but "stay safe".
Lets see what the next week brings, but in the meantime, stay safe.
April 18, 2020
Well, we are almost a week past Easter. Our toilet paper supply continues to be under control, helped along by the fact that no one other than Joanie and I have been in the house for several weeks. We are under strict family orders to not go into any grocery stores, actually stores in general, and our kids do our shopping. A supply of kleenex boxes arrived last week in the nick of time as they are an important part of my ongoing allergies. Joanie of course has difficulty with rules, so on a walk a few days ago did insist on quickly popping into a local grocer store. The sign on the door said only one adult per household was allowed inside, but while I waited outside, several groups came and all went in. I social distanced from her the rest of the walk and she sanitized herself and my credit card as soon as we got home.
Easter was different but probably less so than for many families, as we continue to see our kids and grandson, and will continue as long as they continue to work from home and not have contact with anyone outside of our family unit. We got together for breakfast and then watched the church Easter message on TV. Just not the same. Watching a music video and hearing a message on TV is not the same as worshiping with friends and family. When is the last time I sang out loud and is that reason enough to continue the isolation protocol?
We still get daily updates from Adrian Dix, the health minister, and Dr. Bonnie Henry, the BC chief medical adviser. Dr. Henry has become a celebrity. She is an attractive woman with a gentle spirit who speaks frankly but calmly, and promotes kindness. She seems to have an unlimited wardrobe and while I never noticed, others took notice of her array of shoes, made by a local shoe maker. You can now buy Dr. Henry shoes. Lock-downs continue, with borders closed, international travel all but shut down, all nonessential services terminated, and more enforcement of the require to social distance, staying at least 6 feet away from others. News of the continuing death toll and new virus cases throughout the world dominate the news while some European countries are beginning to look at easing some of their restrictions, despite continuing epidemics. The new buzz word(s) is "planking the curve". That means that as the charts graph the number of new cases and deaths, the increase begins to slow down to the point where things level off. There is little expectation that there will be a rapid decline, or that the virus may not decline and then return in the late fall or winter. Yesterday, we received the first glimmer of hope from Dr. Henry. The curve was beginning to plank. The increase in new cases was slowing down and yesterday there were no deaths in BC. The danger now is that people overreact and loosen their adherence to the instructions given, and the virus may thrive again. Time will tell.
One of the side lines of this pandemic is haircuts. I went to get a haircut several weeks ago and there was a sign on the door saying the place was closed but would open again on April 1. The next day, services such as hair salons, manicurists, etc. were required to close until further notice. I ended up allowing my daughter to perform her first haircut other than the buzz cut my son-in-law gets. She did quite well. Even Dr. Henry had to admit that she did not use her hair stylist, but trimmed her hair herself.
Life continues on reasonably normally for us. Joanie continues to find household chores that are essential to get done, even though no one comes over. In the afternoon we go for a good walk in the neighbourhood. We are currently on our fourth jigsaw puzzle which has been a nice time filler. I do miss not seeing any sports, as all sports is over until who knows how long. For the first time, we did do a visit with some friends because the weather the last few weeks has been incredible. We brought our own coffee and chairs, and sat at least six feet apart in their back yard. We did not go in their house. It was very nice to visit face to face with someone other than our kids. This will be the new norm for a while.
With the news of the "planking", thoughts turned to travel. We have continued to fret about what to do about a train trip planned for Europe in September. I have booked airfare and over twenty different accommodations across Europe. Dr. Henry suggested that international travel is likely on hold for the balance of the year. I guess I will wait until the end of May to make a final decision, but the chances of going away this summer/fall are dwindling down to nothing. Interestingly enough, on a walk a few days ago, Joanie asked me if I had a choice between rescheduling the Europe trip, or going to Africa instead, what would I choose. I said Africa in a heartbeat. Surprisingly she agreed! It just so happens that I have done all sorts of research and narrowed down a few places I would like to go to in Africa, so might this trip happen sooner that I thought possible?
Schools are closed since Spring Break and teachers are doing their best to help students learn online. This can be a challenge when you are teaching Grade Ones, but after a few weeks, it is not going too badly. There is now talk that schools may resume classes before the end of the current year, but will be quite different than before. Businesses too have turned to working form home where possible, and this is very noticeable on the roads, with much less traffic, and on the internet where our reception is much slower. We have seen amazing space shots of cities known for their excessive smog now showing clear skies. In Venice, dolphins now swim in canals they have not been in for centuries. The Earth is amazing at how it can recover and thrive when allowed to. Perhaps a built in design by its Maker?
Up to now, politics has been relatively quiet, as all parties work to deal with the crisis. The cracks have now started. Globally, China is being accused of keeping the virus and its deadly effects quiet for at least a week or more before announcing it. They also may have covered up some of their numbers to downplay it effect on the Chinese people. The WHO, World Health Organization, which is a UN lead group designed to provide worldwide guidance on health issues, is accused of knowing about China's cover up, and playing along with it. Nationally, the opposition is beginning to criticize the government's slow response time when the virus was initially identified. The knives are coming out. We will be hearing about this long after we have all planked.
We are all looking forward to when life returns to normal, but it is becoming increasingly clear that normal make not look the same as it did before the virus. For now, let us concentrate on what the next few weeks brings. The USA is under internal pressure to drop many restrictions due to the economic impact, and we will see how this effects the spread of the virus there. How many lives are Americans prepared to sacrifice for the good of the pockets of the rich?
April 21, 2020
Announcements continue to indicate that it may be a long time before we reach any semblance of normality. All gatherings of over 50 people or more have been ruled out for this summer, meaning anything I may look forward to will not happen. Okay, I am thinking mainly about the start of the football season, but even trips to the lake on a hot day are probably out. Social distancing at Rolley Lake is unimaginable. I guess we will just have to spend more time sitting at a distance from our friends in their yards or our new grass park out front, drinking wine, if we can convince our kids to make extra runs to the liquor store.
I am not sure why we are hearing reports of people being bored with all their free time. I am as busy as ever, in fact, busier. Not only is there the daily crossword puzzle and Sudoku to do, we have now added jigsaw puzzles to the list. I still haven't even finished all the puzzles from the newspaper two Sundays ago! If that isn't enough, try living with a cleaning fanatic. The windows and screens have all been washed even though it is only mid April, and the balcony scrubbed and cleaned. Today I was nearing the end of our weekly bathroom and bedroom cleaning, after all, it is Tuesday, and I found my precious wife in our office room, piling books on the floor. She was taking all the books, photos, etc. off of our shelves to dust behind. She has this ability to find extra work just when you think you are nearly finished.
April 29, 2020
The evening news seems to be our biggest source of entertainment, if you can call it that. President Trump of the USA is an amazing man. Who else can make outlandish statements like the COVID-19 virus is nothing more than a flu, and the US will eradicate it in a few weeks, or suggest to his medical advisor that perhaps they could look into having people ingest disinfectants to kill the virus, and then blatantly deny he said these things when he is proven to be speaking nonsense later. He says so many outrageous things and then says any opposition is just "false news". And still, he has a huge following. This man says he is the greatest president ever, and everything he does is the best ever. No one has ever done anything better than he has, and every issue turns into a political statement praising himself. Still he has the support of a great many Christians who think he is a God-fearing man. How is this possible? The man worships himself!!!
I have gotten very good at washing my hands the required 20 seconds or more. While some suggest singing songs like Happy Birthday twice while washing, I am an accountant. Why sing when you can simply rely on the numbers. I count to 20. Straight forward.
Gas prices have plummeted due to the surplus of supply and drop in worldwide demand due to people staying home during this pandemic. We do very little driving. I last filled up my empty tank for $35! That's at 76 cents per litre in Abbotsford. I see these low prices and just want to stop and fill up, but my tank is now always full. If we are down to half a tank or so, I may top up just because I don't know how long these prices will last. Gas was priced at from $1.35 to $1.54 per litre back in January.
As we are now two months into the pandemic restrictions, you can see people getting antsy, and finding ways to justify bending the rules. By next week, a number of states in the US will reopen businesses, despite the continuing rise in new cases and deaths. All a tribute to how well Pres. Trump is doing I suppose. We could be a few weeks away from some loosening of restrictions, but many will remain in some form for quite a while here at home. We too have begun to do a few visits, although only on dry days where we can sit outside. We bring our own cups and stay at least six feet, two meters, apart. We do not go into anyone's house or touch anything that has not be wiped with sani-cloths. The visits are shorter because when our coffee is gone and we have to go to the bathroom, its time to head home. In the last two weeks we visited with three friends and a family member, in addition to seeing our kids in Pitt Meadows. I now heard reports of others becoming less strict about visits, even though the government continues to urge us to hold the line so we can defeat this virus.
It seems certain now that our trip to Europe will be cancelled, even though we are still four months away, as Dr. Henry does not sound like she wants to lift travel bans for at least the rest of this year. Here's hoping Bonaire still OK in January.
We walk virtually the same route around the neighbourhood each day. Every few days Joanie insists on changing things up and doing it in reverse. I am not overly happy with this. At this stage, do we really want change? Next thing you know, we will be cleaning bedrooms on a Monday or skipping a week. Ridiculous! Slow and steady wins the race.
May 11, 2020
We are one week away from entering what the government calls phase 2 of the pandemic plan. This means more businesses opening up again as long as they can show that they can maintain "social distancing" and there is daily talk, and confusion, about limited opening up of schools. Some restaurants may be able to open again soon, but borders remain closed, travel remains restricted to essential business travel only and staying home remains the mantra. By next week, people may expand their "bubble" by adding another family that has also been vigilant in not contacting others who could potentially carry the corona virus. This only adds to the confusion. I have heard from more than a few who express the complaint that they are done with the current isolation, and hope to open up their social activities to many others. Young people especially don't seem overly concerned with distancing despite reminders that this practice is not necessarily to keep you safe, but to keep safe vulnerable people you may come in contact with. Our weekly sermons seem to focus very much on how much of a struggle it is at the present time and how hard it is to cope. Sometimes I wish we could focus on some positives instead of the doom and gloom, but then I feel guilty, because this unprecedented situation has been really, really difficult for many people. We have been shielded from this because we are retired, and therefore not stressed about finances, and we continue to see our children and grandchild. Yes, we miss seeing our friends, going out for dinner or perhaps going to Vancouver on a beautiful day for a walk on the seawall, but life has not been that difficult, especially if you are like me and are very comfortable not socializing too much. We have visited a few times for short periods. This could all change soon. If our girls start coming in contact with others by going into the classroom again soon, we may lose our current visiting practices.
What really does hit home though is not having things to look forward too. We just went through a spell of beautiful weather but stayed mostly at home. Today I begin the task of canceling our airfare and many hotels, B&B's etc. for our trip across Europe, which is now clearly not going to happen in August. I am not sure what there is to look forward to this summer. Travel is out. Going to the beaches may not be safe with so many not respecting social distancing is busy areas. Even plans beyond the summer like a trip to Bonaire in January is not a certainty. I guess it is best not to focus too much on long term, except the fact that this will come to an end some day, and just do what we can in the present.
June 2, 2020
We have now progressed into Phase 2 of the pandemic. In the past week many businesses began to open, and restaurants that can accommodate customers by keeping them two metres away from other customers have begun to reopen as well. There is some renewed optimism as daily new case numbers continued to decline as did deaths. We just had one death in the past three days in BC, which was leading the nation in the battle with the virus. Quebec continued to be a disaster and Ontario too continued to have high numbers. Seniors homes and a few meat packing companies seemed to lead the way in cases. This week marked the opening of schools to allow parents of K through Grade 5 students to send their kids back to school on a voluntary basis. High schools too were open to accommodate students in need of a school presence. This was the cause of concern in our family, with two teaching staff potentially being exposed to students who could be infected. It seemed like a lot of work and risk considering the school year will end in a few weeks. With these latest developments, the government expected the number of cases to increase but hope it will be manageable. Meanwhile, a second wave is expected in the Fall, which threatens our Bonaire trip in January. A meeting with church officials last week indicated that churches should not expect to reopen before the end of the year, and gatherings of over 50 people would continue to be banned for the foreseeable future. International travel was not expected to open soon and inter-provincial travel was also strongly discouraged. As a result, we booked a one week vacation with the whole family in Blind Bay, on Shuswap Lake in July. We also notice more people, including family members beginning to let up on their strict social distancing and limiting of visits with others. For me, this was a concern, as I would not like to see past efforts go for naught. We now have masks we wear at the grocery store and continue to social distance.
Up to last week, Covid-19 was the sole focus of news reports. That changed rapidly. In Minneapolis, a video was released of a police officer arresting an unarmed black man, and resting his knee on the man's neck, while other officers rested on his back, while he cried out that he could not breath. He died. Only after a public outcry did the police officer get charged with murder. A "Black Lives Matter" movement took over the streets of many major cities in the U.S. with daily protests and often escalating to violence, looting, etc. President Trump did little to calm the country, focusing on threatening rioters with shootings rather than focusing on the issue of injustice for blacks in the U.S. This issue spilled over into Canada as well in a smaller scale and suddenly Covid-19 was moved to the end of the newscasts while nightly images of people facing riot police throughout America played out on the screen for most of the broadcasts. Of course, social distancing was impossible when crowds gather to protest, so it will remain to be seen how this issue will also effect future outbreaks of the virus. In New Brunswick recently, the province had all but eliminated the virus through its isolation, lockdown and distancing rules. Then a doctor returned home from abroad and failed to self-quarantine for 1 days as was required. He had the virus. He returned to work and as a result, many people were now infected with more cases coming up each day. This showed how easy the spread can happen.
I have to confess that I have watched the recent events with mixed emotions. The evidence of the racist way some police forces in the U.S. and individuals treat blacks disgusts me and I lament another black man and his family being destroyed for no good reason, as we have seen numerous times before. I understand why there would be such an uproar and cry for justice. I also agree that racism exists and is much greater than we ever want to admit, and exists in Canada just as well. However, another part of me watches in fascination how the President continues to bungle things, and this issue in particular exposed his own racist flaws and lack of care for human lives over economics and self-promotion. Will the Christian right finally see him for who he is, and not the Christian leader they like to think he is? Will his support base finally break down, or will his fanatic supporters simply brush this aside, as has happened up to now? Images of the President ordering attacks and violence on demonstrators near the White House so he can walk across the street for a photo op with a Bible in front of a church can't be ignored. Even the leader of the church denounced this performance.
June 13, 2020
Things continue to evolve. The news is now dominated by coverage of daily demonstrations across North America, and even other countries, denouncing systemic racism in policing and other institutions. Many videos showing police brutality when executing arrests on either black or First Nations men and women appear regularly and many athletes are speaking out about racism experiences they have had. It seems this movement is taking off and change may happen. The virus is now pushed to the back, though daily reports continue. While Ontario and Quebec experience high daily new cases and deaths, though they are slowing, BC has been very successful. We had only one death in 6 days. More businesses are opening and people are urged to not let down the fight. A second wave is expected in the Fall.
June 27, 2020
Following several weeks of daily demonstrations and calls for eliminating systemic racism, particularly in the police forces throughout North America, things are subsiding, although there seem to be regular accounts of excessive force filmed on police arrests. This must be difficult for the many, many good police who seem to have gone from heroes to villains in a short period of time.
The demonstrations and foolish stubbornness of many Americans, particularly red-neck ones in places like California, Texas, Arizona and Florida have had their effect as predicted. Many claim it is their constitutional right not to wear face masks when asked to, and not to practice social distancing. Many still believe the whole virus issue is a democratic hoax. As a result, new daily infection totals are spiking in all these areas. Despite this, the NHL, in their desperate desire to fill their greedy pockets, continues to explore ways of holding a shortened season and playoff run before summer is over, using hub cities which would host all games with no fans in the stands and players and staff isolated. The forerunners seem to be the hotbeds of the virus, Las Vegas, Florida and Arizona. Vancouver was in the running but was eliminated because the league had the arrogance to ask for exemptions to the isolation rules the rest of us follow. People in B.C. continue to follow the lead of Dr. Bonnie Henry and as a result, we are doing much better than other parts of the country. We just entered Phase 3, which allows more businesses to open, with social distancing rules and special requirements in place, but it could be a long time before things really open up in Phase 4. I learned a few days ago that the likely hood of long term care homes allowing family visits is not in the cards for the foreseeable future. We have not seen my mom since late February. She turned 101 years old on June 25 and we could not go see her. It is a good thing that due to dementia, she is unaware of all of this, but my sister is quite bitter about it. It occurred to me that there is a very good chance that we may never see her again. At 101, how long can she go on?
A few days ago I got my first official haircut since January and saw the dentist. I had to wear a mask the whole time, except when the dentist examined my teeth of course, and the dentist and haircutter (what are barbers called these days?) also wore a mask. Hand sanitizing was in order before and afterwards and I had to wait in the parking lot at the dentist and wait for them to phone me when I could come in. They checked my temperature and I was too hot. Of course! It was 30 degrees in the car sitting in the lot. I had to cool down before I was "healthy" enough to come in.
August 20, 2020
It has now been going on six months since the pandemic began and we seem no closer to an end. The number of new cases reported each day had been going down steadily through June and early July, but as more things open up, including many restaurants, bars, etc., the numbers have been climbing in BC. Young people in particular have been gathering to party in large groups, contrary to the pandemic guidelines, (I would call them rules, but there seems to be very little appetite for the government to enforce them), resulting in a rapid spread in many areas throughout the country. On the positive side, young people seem less likely to experience severe reactions and therefore those infected often require no hospitalizations. The death rate remains low, with no deaths most days. However, with school opening up in September, there is a great deal of stress around to protect children in schools and how to prevent them from bringing home infections to their parents or elders who may be very susceptible.
Meanwhile, south of the border, the gong show continues. Thousands of new cases are reported daily, especially in Republican states who dismiss the whole virus as a Democrat hoax designed to make President Trump look bad. He needs no help with this. He continues to rave about the great job he is doing even as the death toll in the U.S. nears 170,000. Worldwide, countries that were getting the virus under control are now seeing a second wave of new cases.
In sports, I got the sad news this week that despite efforts to hold a shortened season, the CFL canceled its 2020 season. The problems include having too many American players who can not cross into Canada due to the ongoing ban on foreigners and the difficulty in isolating players and other personnel. The NHL was able to proceed with a playoff format by playing all games in two hub cities, Edmonton and Toronto, with teams isolated to the arena and adjoining hotel and restaurants. Any player caught outside this "bubble" will immediately be banned from further play, and must quarantine elsewhere. So far it has worked. The NBA plays all its basketball games in DisneyWorld, Florida, where it has secured an isolate area to hold games, accommodate players and officials, etc. Baseball on the other had continued to hold games in teams' home fields, except for Toronto, because players may not cross the border. There have been numerous cases of covid among players, and a number of games had to be canceled because one or another team had too many players infected. We will see how the NFL makes out in September. They too plan a regular season. Meanwhile, college and junior games have canceled the 2020 season.
Things seemed to have settled down on the demonstration front, although 'Black Lives Matter' demonstrations do still occur in places. Parades, concerts, fairs, etc. all are canceled. The local PNE is doing a drive-thru, where you stay in your vehicle and drive through buildings to see shows and buy fair food. A family wedding on September 1 has been restricted to under 50 people, with many family and friends left out.
I have been doing our own grocery shopping for the last month or so. I always wear a face mask and do a thorough hand washing before and after. More and more people wear masks, although it is surprising to see how many seniors, the most vulnerable, continue to go around uncovered. Perhaps 60 % of shoppers wear masks right now. In the local mall, that number drops to perhaps 25%. Amazon has become my shopping buddy. I recently was in the market for a new lens for a hopeful trip to Africa next year. I checked out the local store to see what lens I wanted. I was going to buy it there, but they would have to order it, and it could take two weeks or more. I checked Amazon and found the same lens for $200 less with delivery within two days. Hard to beat!
Travel is the one area that negatively effects me most. I love to travel. Our trip to Europe, which was to have begun a few days ago, was canceled and I got all my money back from the prepaid hotels. Summer travel was restricted to a house we found to rent for a week in Shuswap, and another house we rented on Saturna Island for four nights, just to get away. Very enjoyable. An organized trip to Bonaire and Aruba with friends, set for late January, 2021 is all but over. Part of this is the uncertainty of whether we would be able to fly by then, and whether we would feel safe doing so, and another is the news that we are expecting our second grandchild, due right on the day we would be leaving. I have been having difficulty hitting the 'cancel' button, but it is inevitable. A trip to Zambia and Botswana is full booked, except air travel, for August 2021. This seems far enough away that it has a chance of happening. I would be very, very disappointed if this too was canceled. We are not getting younger or healthier!
What seems really odd to me is the many grocery items which even after so many months, still are not on store shelves. There was the initial mad hoarding epidemic which left all stores with no toilet paper, paper towels, tissues, and most disinfectant cleaning products. Even though diarrhea is not a symptom of Covid-19, most Canadians, and every other nationality it seems, thought protecting their bowel movements for the next year or more was a top priority. There of course never was a shortage of paper products so this was just pure greed, and stupidity. After a few months, toilet paper, paper towels, and most cleaning products are again readily available. Disinfectant towelettes have yet to appear in any grocery store I have visited, even though drug stores seem to be able to get them in the smaller quantity sizes. How can these still be short supply? Some issues have arisen due to blocked shipments from China, the source of the pandemic, but that does not explain many of the missing products. How could there possibly be a run on canned sauerkraut or kale? Kale still isn't back. The pandemic also seems to have created a huge demand for Johnsonville mild Italian sausage. Go figure! There are still sections of empty shelves at the local store.
Peoples' social bubbles have been growing in recent weeks, and this has made things feel more normal. However, we can not ignore the fact that it also brings greater risk, since you can not be certain of how diligent the people you come in contact with have been. I feel an uneasiness about letting down our guard, but it seems others seem less and less concerned, even while watching the disaster that is the USA each night on the news. There are several labs claiming to be close to having a vaccine ready by the end of the year, but we will wait and see.
Meanwhile, perhaps I should just continue to work on planning and canceling vacations.
