Perspective is important when discussing COVID. Our own experiences probably even more so. Here’s just one.
March of 2020, my province went into full lockdown. Gas stations and grocery stores were the only businesses allowed to open. Provincial borders closed to non essential travel. This was the 2 weeks to flatten the curve. We locked in our houses, some willingly, some begrudgingly for the greater good. As we watched the numbers in New York and New Jersey climb, our two largest provinces here faced similar consequences. The lockdown was extended for another 2 weeks. We sat in our houses and watched the death counts climb even more as COVID swept through our two largest provinces nursing homes. Another two weeks of lockdown. Manufacturing, construction, service industries all deemed non essential. Those who could work from home, had the opportunity to earn money. Me personally who works in peoples homes, unable to invade their safe place, rendered non essential.
After a month and half, our hospitals sat empty, anything that wasn’t an emergency, delayed until further notice. Our ICU’s which would usually be rather full, were empty but waiting, as was reported to me by a friend and doctor who was working in our largest ICU ward this province has. We escaped the first wave of COVID. 2 reported COVID deaths after the first month and a half. But at what cost to general publics mental health and financial well being? We’ll never really know.
With the summer months upon us, we wandered outside. Seen family and friends we hadn’t seen in what felt like an eternity back then. We shared our stories and horrors of the isolation. We were grateful to get back to life as normal as best we could at the time and padded ourselves on the back for our sacrifices for the greater good. Large gatherings were still not possible, sporting events, concerts, movies, church., but at least we could see familiar faces in their homes again. We even picked up some of the pieces destroyed by shutting down industries., but not all and they were definitely changed, to say the least. We got through the summer months with limited impact. Here, we had 8 COVID deaths by the end of September.
The fall of 2020 we cautiously continued moving on with life, but this is the north and it gets cold here. Our case counts begin to climb, a hundred cases a day one week, 200 cases a day the next, 400 after that, our hospitals are finally beginning to feel the pressure of COVID. Restrictions are brought in place to keep from overwhelming our hospitals. The numbers keep climbing, our hospitals overwhelmed. Beginning of November, lockdown. Most industry still allowed to operate, but services aren’t. No indoor recreational activities or gatherings. Retail is limited to essential purchases only, which leads to some of the most bizarre interpretations I’ve ever witnessed. I can’t walk into a big box store to buy a tool to do my job, but I can purchase a far inferior similar item from the dollar store. Under the consequence of $1200 fines, we aren’t allowed to host anyone in our homes who does not live there.
Case counts begin dropping mid December, but our Premier goes on TV ‘saddened’ that he has to be the one to cancel Christmas. We’re asked to report our neighbours if we see anyone not following mandates. Some do. My family secretly gathers in the basement of one of my brothers homes. We sneak over in the cover of darkness against current mandates to share in each others company and laugh over our tears about how ridiculous this overreach has become. Many don’t gather. No Christmas COVID spike for our province. Case counts keep dropping, but we lost a couple hundred in our first official wave of COVID.
Our government decides the lockdown will remain in place, not because our hospitals are overwhelmed, but out of fear that they might be again. If you haven’t experienced a Canadian prairie winter, it might be hard to grasp, but December, January and February are brutal to see the least. Temperatures with the windchill is regularly between -30 c and -40c. Those are numbers even our friends to the south share on their thermometers, no conversion necessary. The days are short, daylight is mostly only available to those with a window in their office or those working outside. But we get through these months together. Friends and family gathering, laughing, experiencing each other. Under the current lockdowns, any of that is punishable by $1200 fines. So we met under the cover of darkness, in remote areas of our province, to stand by a fire in the trees, just to see a smile and hear a story. We do this because we have to, the consequences of not doing so would be dire. Our province begins running ads, targeting the younger age groups who are meeting despite their mandates, telling us how we are killing grandma and grandpa. A few of our churches still closed and never really opened since the initial lockdown begin holding services in secret. The police catch wind, fines are issued, $5000 minimum. The media proudly reports the egregious acts of these churches as a warning to all. Some of the few see this as their stand, they continue hosting secret services and continue to get fined. One pastor gets arrested. The media once again all too happy to report these non compliant uncaring monsters without even offering the opportunity to hear their pleas. Churches begin hosting drive in services. No one allowed out of their vehicle or in someone else’s, just gather in person, in your car and listen over the radio. The police issue more fines. And shut the drive ins down. Fines issued to the churches are in the ten of thousands, if not hundreds of thousands.
Court challenges are brought, it’s decided churches can have drive ins, but that’s it. Keep in mind, this nearing the end of a Canadian Prairie winter, lockdown for 5 months and counting, only change, retail stores can finally sell anything without restriction and we’re finally allowed to host just one other family in our homes. Pretty much this whole time, COVID cases have been stable and hospitals aren’t under pressure, from COVID at least. But after six months of lockdowns, draconian mandates, another brutal winter behind us and quietly gathering in secret, our government begins lifting the lockdown. All the while schools have been more off than on since a year ago.
Vaccines are finally beginning to arrive. The most vulnerable and health care workers were able get their shots in limited supply a little earlier, but for most including those in their 60’s it’s not until April before they even have a chance at a shot. Folks beginning lining up, based on their risk and age. Lotteries are offered by the government with payouts of $100,000, to encourage vaccine uptake. Then vaccine passports are talked about. All this while experiencing our second COVID wave, so that in itself increases vaccine uptake. Within months, the vast majority is shot up with whatever vaccine they could throw in their arm. Restrictions are put into place to help with our rising case counts, but hospitals aren’t feeling the pressure they did in the fall. With summer months approaching, we’ll be out of this wave shortly, we hope. But tales from India have us concerned. We aren’t in lockdown, but we are heavily restricted and mandated.
Summer comes, case counts drop, vaccine uptake continues, but we lost many more in the third wave. Despite our best efforts to collectively protect. The more religious communities of the province still has a bitter taste in their mouth from the winter past. Churches are finally allowed to open, but in heavily restricted capacities. Draws become the solution to help church goers get their chance to sit in church again. Vaccine hesitancy grows in this population. It’s becoming statistically provable that a certain area of the province is having more cases per capita than the rest of the province. It just so happens that this area also has the lowest vaccine uptake. Heavier mandates are imposed on that area of the province, to encourage vaccine. The media and press briefings begin targeting them, pointing the finger for not coming along and doing their part. Vaccine passports are introduced, to control the movement of the unvaxxed. The media and government continue bombarding the unvaxxed, blaming them for making this last longer, filling our hospitals, mutating the virus and spreading it.
We enter the fall, over 85% of the province is fully vaccinated. Case counts are low, hospitals are fine. The unvaxxed continue to be the ire of the media and government. Their movements restricted to shopping and gas stations. If an unvaxxed is at a house, only that family can be there, no others. The government decides weddings are now free to host as many people as they wish, but if just one unvaccinated person attends, they aren’t allowed to serve alcohol…
Most begin enjoying a form of normal life again. They can watch a pro sports team, or eat at a restaurant, even go to church or play their favourite sports with their teams. All they have to do is scan their QR code and the world is their oyster. But not the unvaxxed, step up or shut up. Flying and trains are QR code only, workplace begin firing unvaccinated staff.
Winter comes, tales of a variant from half way around the world. Speculation and fear from our media. Our government is concerned and preparing for the inevitable, the begin targeting the unvaccinated more, more restrictions for them and a polite request to the vaxxed to not gather for Christmas again this year. After last year, most don’t comply this year. Omicron sweeps through our province, highest per capita cases in the nation. Case counts 3-4 times higher, estimates think cases may actually be 8-10 times higher, but we’ll never know, we couldn’t test quick enough. Hospital see numbers higher than ever before, the service industry is heavily restricted. They can open, but I don’t see how they could make profit. Either way, despite the division and discrimination, omicron doesn’t care about your vax status, triple jab, double jab, single jab or no jab, if your exposed your catching it. The government throws their hands in the air at the very beginning of the wave. If you’re young and healthy and have COVID symptoms, assume you have COVID, testing is overwhelmed, just stay home, they say.
And here we are. Omicron is still doing it’s thing. Apparently the cases are dropping, but folks also aren’t getting pcr tests, so case counts is no longer helpful. Hospital are still feeling the pressure, and it’s not just the unvaxxed filling them, they aren’t even the majority. Since omicron began, the government and media quit pointing the finger. But the unvaxxed still aren’t allowed to participate.
Keep in my mind, these stories come from just one man’s experience, from one province of one of worlds leading free nations. As a province we stepped up, we sacrificed for the greater good, we just decided it was acceptable to leave some behind.
