Coronavirus Blog #2

The view from my terrace gives no indication of the current crisis.

It's another beautiful day in the Okanagan. Although crisp and cold, the sun is bright in the sky. It's a good thing as I can look out on our terrace when all the news about COVID19 gets to be too much.

The cases in Canada have jumped by 42 to 447. Another person has died (in Ontario, this time) to make the total number of deaths 5. The Prime Minister spoke this morning echoing the standard things that will hopefully flatten the curve; wash your hands, no groups larger than 50, and social distancing. I know I've been elbow bumping everyone for the last couple days and, with the exception of going to the grocery store and pharmacy yesterday, have been staying home or walking outside.

Another thing alluded to by the PM is implementing some elements of the Emergency Measures Act. When I was a kid, it was implemented (called the War Measures Act) due to homegrown terrorists in Quebec called the FLQ who killed one politician and kidnapped another. This gave the government sweeping powers that you don't usually see in a democracy like Canada but may be necessary in the coming weeks to stabilize this pandemic.

There are a few things that I would like to see - and I would not be surprised if most of them happen in the next few days:

1. Close the border to the US. Canada has closed our border to everyone except essential people such as airplane crews and truckers of goods. And US citizens. The problem is, parts of the US, including Washington State, directly south of us, have more cases than all of Canada right now. Our provincial government, contradicting our PM,  has said that we don't want US citizens in BC. I think it would be safer to just close the borders to US citizens (and vice versa) except for trade related trips.

2. Close all schools and universities. I have a presentation at the local college today - but after that, I am tapping out. I don't need the courses - they are just for fun - and I think things are going to get a lot worse. Elementary and high schools will need to close, too, for the sake of the children and staff who need to be out of that giant Petri dish called a school. It's a burden, but there's my next point.

3. People should stay home. We are being told that but my wife and I are practically the only ones we know who are able to because we are retired. I have relatives that work for independent businesses, wineries, the RCMP, and government agencies and they are all working on site. My son, luckily, can work from home. One of the most effective measures in China and Korea was to restrict movement and have people stay home. That would also mean there are parents home to take care of their children.

I realize that people are very concerned about he economic impacts of shutting down most business for the time being - or, at least, running them from home. But the situation in places like Italy and Spain right now show that these measures will happen anyway. Why not reduce the spread - or at least flatten the curve - by implementing stricter controls - temporarily - right now?