Pandemic Chapter 3

 December 8

USA just passed 15 million COVID-19 cases and things continue to spiral there as President Trump, still fighting his loss in the November election, has done little to stem the damage and many of his followers continue to ignore health warnings. Locally, even within my family, I read outrageous attacks on our health minister and Dr. Henry as a lying tyrants. Very disturbing! The government imposed new restrictions which will be in effect until at least January 8, 2021 which include, limiting travel to essential trips only, no visitors in homes except the residents, no going out for dinner or drinks with anyone except people who live in your household as well as a few other things. For us, we have always considered our immediate household to include our two daughters, son-in-law and grandson. Part of this is because we continue to do babysitting for our grandson, so are in their house, and this activity is allowed to continue. People are getting very upset with how Christmas will be effected. No family dinners, many Christmas activities cancelled, no time with friends for the foreseeable future, etc. 

My brother was in the Lower Mainland for two months, and we did manage to spend time with him on three occasions. While I strongly believe in following the rules and protecting each other from this pandemic, I hate to admit that for these times we stretched things. I guess we can all find reasons to make exceptions for ourselves and I want to be careful not to let that be a pattern, but we had not seen him for 10 years and who knows when we may see him again. He spent his time working online and recently went to Barbados in order to spend the next several months working online from the Caribbean, after quarantining for two weeks.

The virus feels like it is getting closer. While we know of a few people personally who contacted the virus, and some of those died, we have now had a family member, a nephew’s daughter, get the virus, and our SIL had a very close friend die within a few days of getting the virus. We no longer go in and place if we don’t have to, and if we do, it is always with a face mask on. On the bright side, I have a feeling face masks may be the new stocking stuffer standard present.

I believe we are truly starting a new chapter. While restrictions will continue probably for months yet, the first vaccines were are being rolled out this week. Britain approved a vaccine and started inoculating today. Canada expects the vaccine to get Health Canada approval at any time, and the first people, probably health care workers and seniors over 80 years old could start getting needles before Christmas, with regular shipments coming thereafter. Could this be the start of beating the coronavirus? One can only hope so. It is good though to have hopeful news rather than doom and gloom each night.

December 9 - Today the first vaccine from Pfizer was approved in record time. There was clearly and very upbeat feel to the nightly news despite continued concern for the high numbers of new infections. Hopefully a historical day!

January 11, 2021

The next phase is now fully in swing. For over a month now vaccines have been sent out and inoculations have begun. First priority are front line health care workers, residents of senior care homes, indigenous people on reserves, drug dealers and murderers in prison, ... oh and some hospital board executives. My mom, who is now 101.5 years old, with advanced dementia, got her shot last week. I felt guilty hesitating when I was called to approve her receiving the vaccine, thinking that perhaps some younger, more cognitive person might benefit more. However, I would not want to be the reason she passes away or that she suffered. 

Health restrictions imposed in December are extended to February. This includes staying home except for essential travel, no visiting inside with anyone outside of your family residence (with some exceptions for care givers and singles), no dining out with anyone outside of your residence, no contact sports, no ballet dancing (rats!), and no travel outside of your health region. Masks are mandatory in every establishment. Some socializing may be ok outside, (no one seems to really have a handle on this), but social distancing and mask wearing is required.  We are constantly reminded that we are all in this together and if we all follow the health guidelines, which include fines of $2,300 for hosting gatherings that include non-household members, we can keep the curve from climbing and overloading the hospitals. Despite these measures, now common in many provinces and countries, covid-19 continues to spread. Yesterday we hit 90 million cases world-wide. The goal is to vaccinate all of Canada, although you may decline, by the end of September. Being over 65 and with other conditions, we hope we will still get it in time for our scheduled trip to Africa in August. Despite very clear messages from the government that Canadians should restrict their travel to essential business only, many politicians, including members of health boards and others who have put out messages stating people should not travel, were caught having gone on Christmas vacation to the Caribbean, Hawaii, India and the U.S., or attending to personal matters not qualified as essential travel. Naturally the public was very angry and forced the imposition of repercussions on politicians. Issued statements apologizing and saying they made a mistake sound hollow, given their orders to others and the fact that a vacation trip is not a spur of the moment decision that happens before you have had time to think about it. I feel these people have lost their credibility and right to be taken seriously.

My brother is still in Barbados working from "home" and intends to stay there until March. He is actually safer there from the virus than being in Toronto, and he is fully prepared to take the tests and do the quarantining required on his return. 

Due to health restrictions, the Christmas season was very different. Most Christmas events were canceled. We did get out one night to look at the top decorated houses in Pitt Meadows and Maple Ridge, but in two cars. Christmas eve we spent home with our one daughter instead of with the six of us, going to a Christmas Eve service and then opening presents. Christmas Day usually involves going to church in the morning, enjoying goodies with coffee with our small family, and then going for dinner and an evening of games with the extended family (over 25 people). This year we stayed with our small, 6 person immediate family, had breakfast, watched the Christmas service online, opened gifts, parted ways for a few hours to prepare food or just have a nap, and then gather again for turkey dinner and games after the grandson is in bed. Much quieter but OK.

New Year's Eve was also quiet. We did a Zoom (an internet multi-participant video chat), with the friends we would normally get together with for a NYE party. However, by 11PM we were down to only us and the host family. Pretty sad showing. We used to make fun of seniors who couldn't make it to midnight on NYE. We did hang in there until 12:05AM and then signed off pretty quickly. I think I did not even have a glass of wine until very late that night. New Year's Day, another day where we would normally gather with the extended family for pizza and games, was just another day. We did have a Zoom meeting with the family, including my brother in Barbados, my nephew and his family in Lynden, Washington, and one of his daughters who was visiting her boyfriend's family in Iowa, (no practicing essential travel restrictions in this family). My brother and a nephew organized trivia contests. One was for TV and movies, including questions on identifying musical scores. We managed to answer three questions relating to the movie "Its A Wonderful Life", but that was all. Who listens to musical scores? The other game was for songs, going all the way back to the 80's! I think I stopped listening to music in the 70's. These guys think songs from the 1990's are classic oldies. Where was Buddy Holly, Elvis, The Beatles, The Beach Boys, etc.? After answering every question with a question mark, we baled even before the answers were reviewed. To be fair, the family cousins didn't think us older folks would be joining so didn't include songs from before they were born. 

December and January have been quite dismal, weather wise, and the canceled trip to Bonaire in a week from now would have been welcome relief. Also, we really look forward to visiting with family and friends again, even if at first it needs to be outdoors with safe distancing in the Spring.       

February 20, 2021

The year began with promise. Two vaccines were approved and with government assurances of having purchased millions of doses, it felt the end was in sight. But, just like a bratty sibling that holds out something you want, only to pull it away at the last second, it feels we are experiencing the same thing. Just as the first shipments of vaccines were to start arriving, the drug companies announced that there would be a 4 week delay due to the need to refit factories for the increased demand. While the U.S. had their own source, Canada was at the mercy of the companies in Belgium and got the shaft. While the government claims it could have everyone inoculated by September, there is little faith that they will accomplish this. On top of that, some privileged hospital board members managed to get them and their friends at the top of the vaccine list because they supposedly had extra doses that had to be used up quickly, despite over 99% of the population available to get the shot. Other stories of abuse also have come out from time to time. 

In B.C., the plan is to vaccinate based on age, from the oldest to the youngest. Based on their projections, if we don't get screwed by the drug companies again, us 65+ agers could expect to get our first dose in May or June. However, as long as so many people do not have the vaccine, and poorer countries fall farther and farther behind in getting vaccinated, international travel remains doubtful for quite some time. We have not yet canceled our trip to Zambia and Botswana at the end of August, but I believe that will be a certainty. Another year of staying home. At night we watch shows like House Hunters International and dream of warm climates, sandy beaches and exotic wildlife. 

There are several more vaccines being tested but Canada seems particularly slow at approving of them. Even when other countries have reviewed the test data and approved of a vaccine, Canada always needs weeks and weeks more to get extra data. Meanwhile, more and more people get sick and die. Now add to this the new threat, "variants". A virus is not enough. Now that we are close to attacking the virus, we have nightly reports of how the virus is mutating, creating new variants which help spread the virus more quickly. It appears the current vaccines would be effective against these strains, but that is not completely certain. We are now being told that even if you get vaccinated, you may need to continue the current practice of isolating, etc. Put it all together and one can get very discouraged. We take a step forward and a half a step back. We are in this for some time yet. Another lonely year. 

Amid all this, my mother died on January 26 at the age of 101. We have not visited her, except talking on a phone from outside her care home once, since January, 2020. Due to her severe dementia, it has been a long time since she even recognizes us or has any kind of conversation, so talking on the phone to her was not very meaningful. After 10 years, my brother decided to come from Toronto to visit her and reconnect with family. He works from home due the pandemic, so arranged to continue that, only from Surrey instead. He was able to see her for two through the glass visits before leaving for Barbados, where he continued his working from home, much to the chagrin of his employer. Working from home online is way nicer in Barbados than Toronto in the winter. (He did follow quarantine rules.)  Despite her age and mental state, mom was always healthy physically. However, things deteriorated quickly and she was confined to bed, where her body slowly shut down. We were allowed to visit her in person, although only one person could go into her room at a time, fully dressed in gown, facemask, gloves and even goggles. I am not sure how her mind was working but she was aware of anything, I am sure she must have wondered who these alien beings were. The family visited her daily for about a week before she passed away. Visiting during a pandemic is difficult, and there was feeling of guilt getting together with siblings to provide comfort and plan funeral arrangements but we took the chance. I think we are now past the transmission period and no one got sick, so that is a relief. The funeral itself was also awkward. My mom outlived all of her friends so I had thought even without the pandemic that the funeral would be very small and quiet. However, suddenly grandchildren that had not made much of an effort to visit mom for these past 10 years wanted to be involved, to get closure. The regulations were to limit attendees to 10 people, including pastor and others involved in the funeral. With only 7 siblings and spouses here, that worked out well, but there were threats that some grandchildren might try to hang around near the graveside ceremony. That added extra stress to the situation. We arranged to have the service livestreamed so locals and family in Alberta and the Netherlands could see it as well. We were advised by the funeral home that if anyone other than the 10 people allowed at the grave were anywhere on the cemetery grounds, the funeral would be stopped immediately. The word was passed around and there were no incidents. Some of the family visited the gravesite on their own the next day, which was OK. 

The daily infection numbers have peaked and are now coming down, although the threat that any slackening of covid practices could cause a fast rise in numbers means we continue on. The number of deaths is going down too. However, just this morning my brother-in-law's older brother passed away from covid-related respiratory issues. Apart from the vaccine, my hope now is for Spring and warmer weather where perhaps we can once again see people outdoors at a safe distance.  

First, I have to admit that I broke protocol myself when we got together with my siblings regarding mom's funeral. Apart from that, we have limited our personal visits to our kids who have been in our bubble from day 1. We have rationalized that because we are care givers to our grandchildren when our kids need help, and that seems to be OK. Are we stretching the "rules"? Who knows. But it is interesting to see how others have stretched the rules to the point of breaking, each one rationalizing that what they are doing is OK. Most of my family have found ways of seeing other people well beyond what the health officials have laid out, each feeling fully justified. One limits her contacts to one or two people, as allowed, but those people change regularly, not allowed. I heard the other day that one went for lunch with their spouse, which is allowed, but saw friends at the restaurant and joined their table, definitely not allowed. The restaurant staff did not say anything so that must have been OK. I don't think my family is a group of rebels, so it is easy to see how difficult it must be for governments to put control over the situation when this behaviour must be rampant.        

March 13, 2021

We are now into the next phase of this pandemic. Canada has now approved 3 vaccines, and more are in the works. The rollout of the vaccines has begun, each province setting their own schedule. In BC, after seniors care facilities, we are now being scheduled by age, starting with those over 90 years old, then in 5 year increments after that. Of course, despite requests not to, many people who did not qualify for the next round were calling in, wanting to ask questions, make a case for why they should be the exception, or simply because they are too stupid to follow instructions, thereby overloading the system. There were also major delays in the promised initial deliveries of the vaccines from Belgium, so here in Canada we are well behind the USA in the speed of the rollout. The initial projection was that my age group would be vaccinated by perhaps July. As new vaccines get approved and the number of deliveries are rising, this now appears to be May.

Despite the beginning of vaccinations, daily numbers of infections have risen and there is a strong message to not let down one’s guard. World-wide, 2.6 million people have died from Covid-19. However, our Dr. Bonnie Henry has put out the suggestion that summer may look more normal than last year. While that gets me excited, it is followed by warnings a that travel will likely continue to be restricted to essential travel only for probably the rest of the year. The border with the US is still closed and not expected to open any time soon. Why does nobody care that I have a trip to Africa planned for August? Zambia has not received any vaccinations to date, and more than half of their population will likely not be vaccinated this year.

I feel however that I am ready to do my part. Covid-19 and the vaccinations continue to dominate the nightly news. A few days ago I counted 22 close-up shots of people getting shots. Those same videos are shown night after night. I now believe I am fully trained to be a poker if this will help things move along faster. 

While I have no complaints, and despite my aging body falling apart; I can’t walk because I developed plantar’s fasciitis due to my worn out runners, my third tooth in just over a year broke off and I need two crowns, and my new meds are causing me a lot of heartburn; I do find I am looking forward to visits with friends again. Things looked up a few days ago when Dr. Henry announced that they were loosening the current restrictions which limit visits to basically same household residents and child care providers, to allowing an increase to 10 people in a group, if visiting outside and still practicing social distancing, etc. Within a few hours we had plans to see some friends for takeout dinner, until we saw that the additional people could not change, but would have to be the same people for the next while, and could not come inside. That killed our visit. Today I got a message from a family member to see if we were open to visiting now. I expect that many people will not follow the order, but will freely visit many different people, feeling that as long as they restrict their size to 10 people at any one time, they are complying. I guess we will just have to continue to be the oddballs that keep our current family unit closed. 

I do believe though that after a full year under this pandemic, the light at the end of the tunnel is getting brighter. As long as people don’t go crazy with letting their guard down, further loosening of restrictions should start coming soon. Maybe in a month or so we could even go to church. I would have to first scrape off the layer of dust over my dress shoes.

April 7, 2021

Well, the nasty deed was done! I canceled our trip to Africa this August and rescheduled it for a year from now. At first glance, that seemed safe, but with each passing day, the future seems more uncertain. A week before Easter new rules came in saying that indoor religious gatherings would be allowed for the Easter period at least, following certain rules. Within days, covid infection numbers increased and that plan was scrapped, a few days beforehand. Outdoor gatherings were allowed if people stayed in their cars, wore masked, social distanced, and did not sing or chant. (no problem there) We chose to continue watching church at home but it did not feel very "Easter-y". We are currently under a three week restricted health edict which continues to promote staying home, gathering only with the household, not traveling except for essential services, no indoor dining or drinking, no open gyms, etc. Not much different than before except restaurants being restricted to take-out or patio dining. However, people are getting frustrated. First, by all those who seem to just ignore the rules and gather together, whether it is young people or a group of defiant churches, and openly traveling outside of their health regions despite all the warnings. Of course, the government put on extra ferry runs for the long weekend even though there should be fewer people going away. Not happening. The other issue is the flip flopping and changing of rules that have caused many to lose confidence in how things are being handled. Despite the rules and the steady but slow rollout of the vaccines, numbers continue to climb. Then, when there is hope for a better summer because a vaccine is here, new reports of aggressive variants suggest that even after a vaccine, isolating and distancing needs to continue. Who knows now when travel will open up, even a little. Meanwhile, in the USA, where even after the ouster of Donald Trump, many states continue to flaunt health recommendations and numbers skyrocket, they are vaccinating their people at a rate astronomically faster than Canada. And, I think the government is out to get me, although house confinement may be causing paranoia. The general vaccines in BC are being rolled out by age, from oldest down. For a while the eligible age groups went down a year per day. Then things seemed to get hung up at about the 73 year olds and 4 days later we are still only at 71. But, more and more people are suggesting scrapping the age method and targeting the high risk groups, from ferry workers and taxi drivers, to young people who don't follow the rules (now that real seniors have had their shot), just as we are approaching my age group. Come on!

Personally, I see a rift as some family members continue to poo haw the whole pandemic and diss the vaccines, while others are diligent in dealing with the pandemic. It is difficult to see how that can all be ignored once we are able to come together again. 

Personally, I am now almost four weeks into my plantar's fasciitis, and had a setback when I went for a longer walk than I should have. I am unable to walk and real length without suffering a lot of pain in my heal afterwards. I realize now that walking over 10,000 steps every day was more than a personal challenge. It gave some structure and meaning to my day, a goal to be met for a successful day. Now I sit at home longing to go for even a 5,000 step walk. And the days should be getting warmer. On top of that, since the pandemic started, my mouth is falling apart.

The light at the end of the tunnel is still there, but seems farther away and less bright that even a month ago.