By Pepper Parr
April 12th, 2021
BURLINGTON, ON
The weather was wonderful. Lots of people out and about.
I was driving south on John Street turning right onto Lakeshore where there were a good sized gathering of people sitting about. Traffic was a little clogged on Lakeshore – I was heading west to see what things looked like in the Beachway.
I was stunned by the number of people I saw sitting around – unmasked, side by side enjoying the sunshine.
Earlier in the day I was given the number of new infections reported by the province,
4456 new Covid19 cases.
The projection had been that we would reach 6000 new infections daily by the end of the month if we didn’t shut everything down.
Non-essential, elective surgery has stopped – the beds are needed for those who are very very sick due to Covid. My partner had her vaccination earlier in the week – she experiences pain and tightness in her arm. You worry – are you Ok, because I don’t think we know what Ok is anymore.
We are in trouble.
Most of the people I saw were young – high school maybe. They live in Burlington – and we are safe in Burlington. It is those other people who live elsewhere and in circumstances that aren’t as good as they are in Burlington that have to worry.
True enough – but this virus travels and it seems to be able to find groups of five to ten people and settle in.
NHL hockey games are cancelled because a team member has a temperature. One would think that those million dollar men on skates would be watched very closely and kept away from other people.
None of us are safe. That isn’t meant to be alarmist – it is the reality we have to live with.
That “abundance of caution” phrase is used by the politicians when they shut things down – it doesn’t appear to be something that most of us put in our pockets when we leave the house.
We are no longer able to gather as a “public” to express our concerns, offer our opinions or just enjoy the company of close friends. We learn of friends who have relatives facing critical health issues and we can’t drop by and visit with a casserole and some freshly baked bread in hand.
They miss out on needed support and we miss out by not being able to give that support. We are caring people put in a position where the opportunities to care get limited.
What is it we aren’t hearing?
And why?
Penny – my thoughts exactly
Welcome to the “ME” culture of 2021- not the “Us” Canadian culture of the past. I am sorry you and All the grandmas, the Grandkids, the Essential workers, the Education teachers etc.. will suffer and are facing a reality of this.
No, not just ‘Old people’. We have been and are staying home and managing as best we can! You are seeing the the ‘Me before you’ citizens. So sad
Yes, Covid loves company and we insist on giving it exactly that.
“Burlington is Safe”. We may not have as many cases of Covid 19 in Burlington, but to think we are safe is not in my opinion accurate. As stated today, April 12th, elective surgery at JBH are cancelled. It is rarely possible to see your physician in person. It is one thing to renew prescriptions with your physician on the phone, it is quite another to be diagnosed over the telephone.
Burlington Covid 19 cases have increased dramatically in the last few days. We may not be in the same situation as some of the larger centres, but we do have patients in ICU with Covid, we have had residents die of this disease, and our counts are increasing.
Every time I see lineups for an ice cream or large groups interacting in Spencer Smith Park I have to ask what is it that makes it so important to do these things when we have been told over and over again not to do this?
These variants are much more contagious. Stay Home, Buy ice cream at the grocery store and eat it at home, and go for a walk wearing a mask.
We are in the situation we are in right now because many people either don’t think Covid 19 is as deadly as it is or they “just have to get out”. What will it take for a segment of our population to take this seriously? It is no longer just an “old people” disease. Young, healthy individuals are dying of Covid 19.