Just hang in there

by BRIAN LOCKHART

I don't like this current lockdown situation. Not one bit.

However, if you do an informal poll of 1,000 local residents, I'm pretty sure you'll struggle to find a single person who says they are enjoying staying at home, not socializing, being unemployed, not going to a restaurant or a movie, or being afraid of standing next to someone in a grocery store.

So, we are all in this together.

I will admit that when all this started, I was very skeptical of the reasons for suddenly shutting down the hockey season basically mid-game and announcing that schools would not be in session for several weeks.

It seemed like massive overkill to control a situation that, to me at the time, didn't really seem to be that desperate.

When news reports first started coming out about this virus that apparently began in a province in China, it was originally explained that this is the same type of virus that causes the common cold so it didn't really seem to be a pressing concern.

In situations like this, you must listen to the experts.

If you are building a bridge and a civil engineer shows up and takes a look at it and explains your design is wrong and it's going to collapse as soon as you drive across it, you listen. You either redesign the bridge or start all over again rather than have it collapse and kill the people trying to cross your river.

In this COVID-19 situation, the experts are the medical community. They're are experts in communicable diseases who know what can happen. They advise others, who then give the information to government leaders.

When Ontario Premier Doug Ford made the announcement that Ontario schools would be shut down for two weeks after March break, it was a stunning and unexpected proclamation for students, parents and teachers alike.

However, Mr. Ford didn't make that decision on a whim. He was given information by the experts and I'm sure spoke to his inner circle before pulling the plug.

Fortunately, my employer made the bold decision to keep our business up and running rather than panic and close shop.

We are all working from home which, thanks to modern technology, is feasible.

While I've heard some people say they envy people who can work from home, it's not all it's cracked up to be.

There's a lot to be said about social interaction while on the job. I miss being at the games and meeting people at events.

There have been protests in several U.S. cities, with large groups showing up at the various state legislature buildings demanding a stop to the lockdown, saying it infringes on their rights.

Well, yes, it is an infringement of their rights – notably freedom of assembly. However, this is not a permanent thing. It is a temporary measure for the good of the public.

If I thought the government was going to permanently shut down and control society, I would join them.

It was absurd to see a large group of people amassing on the steps of a capitol building during a pandemic in which a virus is easily transmitted between people.

Just because you can't see radiation, would you willingly walk through a radioactive debris field and assume you won't be affected because you don't see it?

You may have heard the name “Typhoid Mary.” I'm sure having a disease attached to your name isn't pleasant, however, Mary Mallon earned the title after infecting around 51 people, of whom at least three died, in the early 1900's.

She was an asymptomatic carrier of the typhoid bacteria, meaning although she had the disease in her body, she had no symptoms.

Mary was a cook. After being employed by one family and giving them all the disease, she moved on to work for at least seven other families, spreading the disease as she went.

Even after they figured out she was the common denominator and source of the outbreak, she continued to seek employment as a cook because she didn't believe she had the disease.

Her ignorance of the situation caused some people to lose their lives and others to become seriously ill.

The current system of social distancing is beginning to show good results. Avoiding contact is the only way to stop a virus from spreading.

Just hang in there and in a few weeks this will all be over.