The
news…
I
think we are all getting sick (not literally, thankfully) of the constant
barrage of bad news concerning Covid-19. On some TV channels it is on all day
long, with the pundits and self-styled experts telling us the latest statistics
and commenting on the government support programs – or lack thereof.
It’s
difficult to find a story in a newspaper that is not pandemic-related. Almost everyone
I know has had enough of being told how bad things are. And there is no doubt
they are bad, but do we need a play-by-play of events.
I
am glad we live where we do, where people are still cooperative, knowledgeable
and in general agreement with the steps that are being taken to minimize the
risks of contracting and spreading the virus: staying home as much as possible,
avoiding contact with people outside the family, washing hands, etc.
Understandably,
some people are getting restless with not being able to go to work or
congregate with friends. Filling up the time or keeping the bank account
healthy are worrisome things.
News
from many parts of the US show protests, a few of them violent, with people
wrapping themselves in the American flag and suggesting that quarantine is a
communist conspiracy or that restricting their movements is somehow an attack
on personal freedom. Even wearing face masks into stores has received some
unbelievable response with a security guard in Michigan being shot to death by
an unhappy customer who did not think their child should be put to the
difficulty of donning personal protection.
Those
people wanting to go back to “normal” immediately do not seem to understand how
deadly this virus is or that in opening stores and recreation areas, while case
and death numbers are still rising, is so dangerous and could end up in
another, more disastrous wave. It’s a selfish point of view, not an infringement
of rights, to knowingly put others at risk. I hope we keep our borders closed
to those types of individuals.
Sporting
events…
And
still the major professional sports leagues think they can salvage their
seasons, when there is no likelihood that large crowds will be allowed to
gather for several months, or that people would even be willing to risk their
lives if stadiums and arenas were opened.
The
National Hockey League is considering using a few “hub-cities” where a few
teams would gather, stay housed in hotels and play to empty rinks to finish the
season and begin the payoffs. It’s all about the TV revenue, of course. There
are two cities in western Canada, Edmonton and Vancouver, being considered.
What
no one wants to address, though, is how you get players from all over the world
into the country (Canada or the US) when there are no planes flying and anyone
entering would have to immediately go into a 14-day quarantine. And then they
would have to be tested for the virus before they could be allowed to be in
contact with anyone else.
How
would the rest of the citizens feel, especially us older ones, if privileged sports
figures got bumped up the queue to get tested while the rest of us waited to
become eligible? Or sick! Not very good about it I can tell you!
Not
the time to get distracted…
Isn’t
it time everyone, EVERYONE, realized we are not going back to where we were any
time soon? We don’t need live sports on TV. We don’t need crowds of shoppers
(not that everyone will be rushing out to buy stuff anyway). We don’t need
patio parties or crowded restaurants. Children are fine to learn at home for a
while yet. Seniors don’t mind being at the grocery store at times there are few
other shoppers or having their wine delivered. We don’t really need golf
courses to be open either, but those guys think they are immune.
We
need to stay focused, first, on halting the spread of Covid-19 and then looking
at reasonable ways to re-energize the important parts of the economy that will
allow people to resume whatever productive work can be taken up again. Playing
hockey in front of TV cameras is not productive work.
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