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Yikes and double-yikes!
Mar. 16th, 2020 12:54 amI am so tired.
I know it's tired to complain about being tired, but whatever, this is my journal I can write what I want. ;)
Work has been completely bonkers, although right now the blockades and protests in support of the Wet'suwet'en have stopped, so we haven't had to do any work related to that for a couple of days now. The COVID-19 pandemic, however, is starting to take off here in Canada.
Right now, we're at a tipping point. The virus is contagious enough that, unchecked, the number of infected people doubles every week or so. We had two cases at the end of January, and now there are 299 confirmed cases (with a lot more still awaiting testing). There was a similar progression in Italy, but because measures weren't taken in stride, they currently have somewhere in the neighbourhood of 14,000 cases, and their medical system is cracking under the strain. The rest of the world is struggling with this to varying degrees, and while Italy is the worst hit so far, it's looking like the US is going to be a hell of a shitshow.
The one good thing going for us in Canada is that we learned some hard lessons after the SARS outbreak in 2003. The federal and provincial governments put infrastructure in place to deal better with the next pandemic, as SARS disproportionately affected medical personnel and was just overall so poorly dealt with. So there is reason for optimism, at least here. Everything is shutting down: all schools and universities, all non-essential government workers have been sent home, and people are being encouraged to work from home as much as they can. Right now anyone returning from abroad is being asked to self-isolate for two weeks, anyone in contact with people who've been abroad, and anyone showing symptoms consistent with COVID-19. Anyone with a confirmed case must remain in quarantine for two weeks unless they can't manage their symptoms at home.
My parents and I have agreed not to visit each other until the end of April, which is when her course of radiation treatments will be done. It's a bit of a bummer, but we're staying in touch by phone and by Skype, and we'll make do. It's not the longest we'll have gone without seeing each other in person--my parents went on trips to Europe that kept us apart for much longer.
In the meantime, people are panicking. It started in other countries like Australia and the US, but it quickly spread here. The panic is manifesting as stockpiling, and it reached an all-time high late last week. People have been buying ridiculous amounts of toilet paper and paper towel, even though they have been assured by both governments and the companies themselves that there is no problem with the supply chain. I think they heard the government tell them to prepare for two weeks at home, and just kind of lost their minds. No one needs hundreds of rolls of toilet paper for a two-week quarantine. The shelves in the stores are bare of non-perishables, canned foods, as well as any kind of disinfectant product, and all the bread products, potatoes and onions. It's kind of wild, I'm not going to lie.
Of course what this means is that the people who could afford to stockpile are fine, but all the people who live in financial precariousness/paycheque to paycheque now no longer have access to every day necessities. Shelters, food banks and soup kitchens are struggling, because many stores usually make donations every week and now can't because they've been stripped bare.
In short, we've got some challenges ahead of us. Schools are closed, but many parents still have to go to work and are struggling to find child care. The elderly and people with chronic medical conditions are the most vulnerable to the virus, and the most likely to be hospitalized and die if they get infected. We have people who are already isolated, people with mobility and other accessibility challengers, and more.
Inspired by something I saw on Twitter, I'm putting together a neighbourhood support network. I spent two hours or so yesterday going door to door to all my neighbours in my townhome complex in order to leave a flyer I made explaining the concept, and so far eight people (out of about 100 households) have expressed an interest in helping out. The idea is to identify vulnerable neighbours, to assess needs such as child care or basic food and supplies, and organize volunteers in order to meet those needs. I hope we won't end up needing the network all that much, but I am erring on the side of "better to have it and not need it, than need it and not have it." I've also been compiling a list of information and resources for anyone who might need them.
It's my first time putting something like this together, so I'm sort of improvising and relying on a handful of resources from other people who've done it before. I'm hoping the other people who've expressed interest will be able to fill in any gaps I've left. We'll see how it goes, I guess! At least I'm getting to know my neighbours better. :)
Now it is time for me to go faceplant in my bed.
I know it's tired to complain about being tired, but whatever, this is my journal I can write what I want. ;)
Work has been completely bonkers, although right now the blockades and protests in support of the Wet'suwet'en have stopped, so we haven't had to do any work related to that for a couple of days now. The COVID-19 pandemic, however, is starting to take off here in Canada.
Right now, we're at a tipping point. The virus is contagious enough that, unchecked, the number of infected people doubles every week or so. We had two cases at the end of January, and now there are 299 confirmed cases (with a lot more still awaiting testing). There was a similar progression in Italy, but because measures weren't taken in stride, they currently have somewhere in the neighbourhood of 14,000 cases, and their medical system is cracking under the strain. The rest of the world is struggling with this to varying degrees, and while Italy is the worst hit so far, it's looking like the US is going to be a hell of a shitshow.
The one good thing going for us in Canada is that we learned some hard lessons after the SARS outbreak in 2003. The federal and provincial governments put infrastructure in place to deal better with the next pandemic, as SARS disproportionately affected medical personnel and was just overall so poorly dealt with. So there is reason for optimism, at least here. Everything is shutting down: all schools and universities, all non-essential government workers have been sent home, and people are being encouraged to work from home as much as they can. Right now anyone returning from abroad is being asked to self-isolate for two weeks, anyone in contact with people who've been abroad, and anyone showing symptoms consistent with COVID-19. Anyone with a confirmed case must remain in quarantine for two weeks unless they can't manage their symptoms at home.
My parents and I have agreed not to visit each other until the end of April, which is when her course of radiation treatments will be done. It's a bit of a bummer, but we're staying in touch by phone and by Skype, and we'll make do. It's not the longest we'll have gone without seeing each other in person--my parents went on trips to Europe that kept us apart for much longer.
In the meantime, people are panicking. It started in other countries like Australia and the US, but it quickly spread here. The panic is manifesting as stockpiling, and it reached an all-time high late last week. People have been buying ridiculous amounts of toilet paper and paper towel, even though they have been assured by both governments and the companies themselves that there is no problem with the supply chain. I think they heard the government tell them to prepare for two weeks at home, and just kind of lost their minds. No one needs hundreds of rolls of toilet paper for a two-week quarantine. The shelves in the stores are bare of non-perishables, canned foods, as well as any kind of disinfectant product, and all the bread products, potatoes and onions. It's kind of wild, I'm not going to lie.
Of course what this means is that the people who could afford to stockpile are fine, but all the people who live in financial precariousness/paycheque to paycheque now no longer have access to every day necessities. Shelters, food banks and soup kitchens are struggling, because many stores usually make donations every week and now can't because they've been stripped bare.
In short, we've got some challenges ahead of us. Schools are closed, but many parents still have to go to work and are struggling to find child care. The elderly and people with chronic medical conditions are the most vulnerable to the virus, and the most likely to be hospitalized and die if they get infected. We have people who are already isolated, people with mobility and other accessibility challengers, and more.
Inspired by something I saw on Twitter, I'm putting together a neighbourhood support network. I spent two hours or so yesterday going door to door to all my neighbours in my townhome complex in order to leave a flyer I made explaining the concept, and so far eight people (out of about 100 households) have expressed an interest in helping out. The idea is to identify vulnerable neighbours, to assess needs such as child care or basic food and supplies, and organize volunteers in order to meet those needs. I hope we won't end up needing the network all that much, but I am erring on the side of "better to have it and not need it, than need it and not have it." I've also been compiling a list of information and resources for anyone who might need them.
It's my first time putting something like this together, so I'm sort of improvising and relying on a handful of resources from other people who've done it before. I'm hoping the other people who've expressed interest will be able to fill in any gaps I've left. We'll see how it goes, I guess! At least I'm getting to know my neighbours better. :)
Now it is time for me to go faceplant in my bed.
