Last Friday afternoon, I felt that my life has slipped into becoming a Stephen King novel.
My City has shut down and my province's courts, tribunals and many other public services have also shut down. I received a phone call from our local library to inform me that a weekly course that I have been taking has been postponed until after the pandemic. Other monthly meetings I usually have were also cancelled by email by the organizers as a case of "abundant caution".
On Wednesday, March 11, 2020, the World Health Organization (WHO) has declared this novel corona virus a pandemic. There is not so much panic in the streets, as there may be in other circumstances, but it seems to be panic in the grocery stores. In particular, people are buying up huge hoards of toilet paper, which is puzzling, as this virus is not supposed to cause diarrhea. Empty shelves, panic buying and re-selling on Kijiji has become a thing. People are coughing all over their adversaries, saying they have the corona virus, now called COVID-19, as it is a specific corona virus.
There is not a lot known about this COVID-19, even as I try to research it online. All I know is this has become an invisible enemy that nobody seems to know how to fight. Today, Premier Doug Ford declared a State of Emergency in our Province. This means that movement of people and goods now comes under the order and control of authorities, as opposed to the free market. Most governments are now trying to damage the economy and people's lifestyles as minimally as possible, as completely closing off commerce would be impossible and would result in shortages of food, supplies and so forth. We also know the economy must continue to function at some level or things will crash.
On Saturday night, I knew that soon bars, pubs and other premises would soon be shut down, so we went to our favourite neighbourhood bar, played some pool and enjoyed libations of the hour. This virus is ensuring that most of us will not be able to get together to do that type of thing in awhile. That is okay, as I had that opportunity to get this out of my system before today's announcement. Ontario's Medical Office of Health, David Williams, has hinted that there has been some "community spread" of this virus, which means that the chances of anybody in our population of catching it has substantially increased. Prior to this, the pandemic was largely affecting those who have traveled and those who live and/or work closely together.
Some companies are allowing or requiring their staff to work from home, when possible. Others are operating at skeletal staff, or like us, they are operating in an amended way to still ensure service is available, while attempting to function more online as we go. I would love to work from home, but I am not even set up for that. If we have to close up shop, Trudeau is offering a package apparently to help people and small business endure this crisis financially. On Friday, I posted our response and reassurance on our website as to how we are dealing with pandemic. People are calling, some are okay to come in, most are not, which is okay as we set up a service by telephone/Zoom protocol.
I am hoping to rest for a bit during this pandemic, but I don't want to lose money. Most of us are losing money. There is a special forum set up for legal professionals online to discuss how to respond to this thing, how to still make money and where to seek help if we lose money. People are once again coming together. It is interesting how people come together when it is a crisis, but in 'normal times, everybody is at each other as cut throats. Prior to this virus taking front seat, the talk of our profession was the slowness of the Landlord and Tenant Board (and other tribunals) due to a lack of new adjudicators to have hearings, etc. Now, things are ground to a halt. There are not even any evictions allowed during this crisis ... (and we in the profession can see how this can be abused).
I am fearing the upcoming trip to the grocery store this Saturday. All the restaurants have shut down (although some are offering take out or delivery) and I am unsure where I am going to shop. I am also unsure if there will be enough stock of the things I usually need to purchase. A couple of friends online are petrified if public transit and taxi service shuts down. I would be too, as I don't have another way to travel. Given my tongue in cheek attempt at humour, the Internet has a very substantial supply of entertainment for people quarantined or who are self-isolated and need to feel a little cheered up. One wonders what happens to people, but I do know that things are going exactly like Stephen King anticipated in his books.
The news media is having a hard time transmitting correct information about this virus. People are worried about catching it and dying, or somebody else catching it and dying. However, given my usual intellectual approach to research and common sense, I can say the following:
1. Only a small percentage of people are at risk for serious illness. Most are over 70 or those who have other health issues that compromise their immunity.
2. Community spread is the tipping point for calling a state of emergency. This is when the risk for an average person substantially goes up, as it is no longer just those who travel or those close to them.
3. A pandemic is getting worse when its doubling rates get closer and closer together. This is the curve public health officials are speaking of. The isolation, the closings, etc. are an attempt to increase the periods of time between doubling and to reduce the doubling effect altogether. A pandemic is known to get better when the number of new cases decreases substantially over time.
4. Even though the vast majority of people impacted by this virus will only have mild symptoms, not enough about this is known as to how it is spread and who can develop serious illness. Without a vaccine like there is for flu seasons, there is little anybody can do to otherwise to protect those who are vulnerable from getting ill.
5. Some people view this kind of thing as the end of the world. I lived through several of these kinds of things: the October Crisis, stagflation, several recessions, the Cold War, September 11th, SARS, the 2008 Crash, among other events until now. The world has not ended and we are all going to be just fine.
6. This doesn't mean there is not a lot we can learn from these things. Unfortunately, the human race tends to be persistently ignorant and panic tends to be drawn from us when these things happen. We also tend to keep our eyes glued to screens as we watch these things happen. I remember when September 11th happened, people everywhere were watching the news all day long, even in places where television is not normally watched. That was creepy.
7. It takes time for our politicians and public officials to properly respond to these events. Many may be dismayed at the closures, the economic shutdowns and the isolation, but if you look at how Italy, Iran, China, etc. are doing, you should be glad we are taking these steps now. Those other countries only started recently, after far too many died.
8. Our government probably has to spend a ton of money now to ensure there are preparations for a spike in the use of our health care facilities, as well as assistance to individuals and businesses impacted by the pandemic. Many are not able to afford time out of work without pay and businesses that are losing money either due to isolation or reductions in business are concerned about staying alive.
9. The amazing thing now is that unlike prior to the pandemic, it seems like Doug Ford and his like Premiers across Canada are now finding value in working with the federal government. Both levels of government are now attempting to ensure protection in their respective areas for our citizens. I hope this cooperative federalism continues after the pandemic is resolved.
10. At this time, nobody know when this pandemic will let up, or whether a warmer climate will kill the virus. For myself, I am probably amazed but not surprised by the reaction of humans to this very pandemic.
Your thoughts? Share your experiences?
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