Diary: Living with a pandemic 27 (Sunday 12 April 2020)

A different kind of Easter…

Normally on this day we might be with family and friends, enjoying a great dinner cooked by my sister. She is the ultimate chef and host for special occasions.

So this one is different.

I did go shopping yesterday – early morning at the special time for seniors. There must have been all of ten of us in the store, beside the staff. Almost everything was available, except for TP of course. One day I will be surprised and find a whole aisle full of it. Good thing we ordered a large batch in January, before the scare hit. We won't have a special meal today - just left-overs probably as they are not going to waste these days.

Every country and state that I have seen information about has made a travel exemption for the Easter Bunny. That is so good to see as children must really wonder why Mom and Dad are home all the time and they are hearing scary news.

Following are some reports from various news outlets and websites:

An example is this note from New Zealand: New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern declared the Easter bunny was an “essential worker”, ensuring the rabbit was free to deliver chocolate to Kiwi children this Sunday. But she said even the Easter bunny may have trouble finding chocolate during the pandemic.“If the Easter bunny doesn’t make it to your household, then we have to understand that it’s a bit difficult at the moment” Ardern said.

In Belgium, The Royal Belgian Association of Chocolate, Pralines, Biscuit and Confectionary (Choprabisco) is donating 10 million Easter eggs, sweets and biscuits to help care home residents and workers looking after vulnerable people.

In the UK, Cadbury has donated 13,000 Easter eggs to the University Hospitals of Derby and Burton, in a show of appreciation for NHS workers.

One bakery in north-central France has taken a page out of the health safety playbook and adorned its chocolate Easter Bunnies with white masks, made of white marzipan and gently placed over the bunnies’ mouths and noses.

Children across Ontario will still be able to get their holiday chocolate as Premier Doug Ford officially deemed the Easter Bunny an essential service amid the coronavirus outbreak. “It’s so tough for the younger kids to explain what is going on right now … the kids have simple things they are worried about,” Ford said at a news conference Tuesday.

Closer to home, Alberta’s Premier Jason Kenney shared a very nice Easter present in announcing that the province is sending shipments of PPE to Ontario, Quebec and Ontario. In response to an email sent to him by an 8-year-old girl in Calgary named Veronica asking if the Easter Bunny was cleared to make his rounds this weekend throughout Alberta, he said, “I’m pleased to assure you we have declared the Easter Bunny as an essential service and there is no travel ban,” Kenney remarked.

Even the World Health Organization gave EB the all clear. According to a letter from the desk of the Easter Bunny, the World Health Organization (WHO) has cleared the animal to make drop-offs on Easter Sunday. “The Easter Bunny has been tested as a precaution and is clear of the virus and any symptoms and will take all proper precautions to ensure that it cannot be passed from house to house along the usual drop-off route," reads the letter. So while the rest of us still need to stay home and practice social distancing, the Easter Bunny will be allowed to do his essential job.

Good to know some traditions will not be ignored this year.

Happy Easter to everyone. Our new mantra, we will get through this together, just a little further apart.

Diary: Living with a pandemic 26 (Friday 10 April 2020)

News and Travel…

This weekend my daughter and I were supposed to be in Amsterdam visiting my son and his family. We would have been on our way to a genealogy conference in London. Of course, the trip was cancelled in March, in light of the pandemic, as was the conference shortly afterward. Life has changed since then! The talks I was scheduled to give at the conference have now been turned into videos which will be posted online by the conference host. So, all is not lost in terms of spreading ideas and making contacts.

Now our families are at home, all of us keeping our distance from friends and neighbours, as those people are as well.

One of the things that gets me out of the house is walking my dogs. They still need to get out to do their business. But I have noticed that there are many more dogs (with owners attached) out at the same times. These people are at home, too, so they take their dogs for many more walks than they used to. We all keep our distance, whether the dogs want to or not.

The ongoing news is getting to be the same – 24/7 broadcasts of what is going on all over the world with the pandemics. While it started out to be interesting to see what was happening, it has now become depressing and, dare I say, boring!

Many friends are sending cartoons (a large number about toilet paper), stories, advice (see below) and videos to entertain us. Some are quite hilarious. A few have been posted here. Those are the ones I pass along to other friends also trapped at home (A recurring theme is it not?). They do take the edge off the news each day at least.

I get to do a great deal more work on family history projects – research and writing. Of course, I was doing a lot of that anyway, being retired and all. It is getting to the point that I have to push myself a bit. I’d rather be sitting on the patio some days, but winter has not yet given up its grip on us yet. The days are getting longer, though, so there is hope.

Diet Tips for Daily Living…

A friend of mine, who is also a nutritionist recently sent me some tips on keeping healthy while at home self-isolating. They, of course, also apply other situations. I thought they were worth sharing.

Paula, at heartfull holistic nutrition & wellness advises:

TIP #1- Eat a high vegetable and berry diet. 

- One of the easiest ways to boost your immune system and maintain it is to add a variety of fruits and veggies to your day. Produce is full of fibre, vitamins, minerals, and phytonutrients. Phytonutrients are only attainable from eating plants! They are what gives the plant its colour, taste, and smell! They are the primary reason why plants are so nourishing! There are over 5000 phytonutrients, so eat a variety of fruits and veggies to get in a range of them! They stimulate our immune system and help protect us from disease. In truth, this is just a small part of what they do.

• Try adding two different veggies to you daily dinner. i.e. roasted cauliflower and Brussel sprouts
• Make a smoothie each day to pack in plenty of nutrition. i.e. banana, avocado, frozen berries, plain yogurt and water. Boost it with a TBSP of hemp hearts or chia seeds.

TIP #2- Drink plenty of water! 

Without enough water in our body, we cannot flush out toxins, our digestion struggles, our muscles don’t move as easily, we feel stiff and sore. Water makes up our lymph, which is a primary mover of our immune system. Lymph is what moves viruses, bacteria and toxins out of our body for excretion. To make sure you’r drinking enough, weigh yourself in pounds, divide that in half, and that number is how many ounces of water you should be drinking each day.

* Warm or hot water is wonderful for the body. 

TIP #3- Keep moving!

Motion is lotion. The more we can move daily, the smoother our muscles will glide over each other, reducing stiffness and pain. It improves overall circulation, AND keeps that lymph moving! Movement also helps with reducing our stress levels, calming the mind, and ridding the body of excess tension. 

TIP #4- BREATHE!

I know you’re thinking ‘but I breathe everyday, all day!” yes, you do, but slow, deep belly breathing is what I’m referring to here. When slowing your breath down below 10/minute (for a healthy adult), the body will feel calmer, often within 5 minutes, or even 5 breaths. I quite like the box breathing exercise, where you breathe in for a count of 4 Mississippi, hold for 4, out for 4, hold for 4: and repeat at least 5 times.  I also liked paced breathing, especially for when the holding part of boxed breath feels restrictive.  Here you only need remember to breathe in for 4, out for 4.  

This stimulates your “rest and digest” nervous system, boosts the lymphatic system function, calms the mind, calms digestion, and instills a feeling of peace. Practice this in the morning and right before bed.

Stay well, stay home and stay safe…

Diary: Living with a pandemic 25 (Thursday 9 April 2020)

COVID-19 models in Canada…

Most provinces, along with the federal government have now released models of how the Covid-19 infection rates have so far shown themselves and how they may look in the next few months.

The model for Canada can be found here.

The model for Alberta can be found here.

The model for British Columbia can be found here.

The model for Ontario can be found here.

The model for Quebec can be found here.

All of them show the situation will get worse before it gets better. Without the programs already instituted restricting travel and physical distancing, cases would rise into the hundreds of thousands and deaths in the tens of thousands.

Even with the new rules we will still see hundreds of deaths, but we should be able to avoid the catastrophic numbers seen in countries like Italy and Spain. Current stock and access to further supplies of personal protective equipment means that in most areas our front-line health care personnel will be able to handle the wave of sickness that is to be expected curing the coming weeks.

Along with the pandemic, we will face massive unemployment, particularly in Alberta which faces other impacts related to our energy industry.

The objectives are still the same to keep infections down and those are for people to STAY HOME as much as possible, observe the best hygienic processes and avoid contact with others outside the immediate family.

Diary: Living with a pandemic 24 (Wednesday 8 April 2020)

The world is turning differently…

It seems everything we thought was normal no longer is. And maybe won’t be again. This must be what people felt during previous times of significant upheaval, especially during earlier disease outbreaks that killed thousands, sometimes millions.

I do a lot of work relating natural phenomena and family history, looking at physical changes to habitat and the environment during past centuries and reviewing information about how such events impacted people and communities. As I describe in my ‘genea-bio’ (the description of my background and experience in genealogical studies), I am of the view “that humankind has always had to adapt to the ever-changing physical environments in which they lived.”

Human beings probably been the most successful species because of their ability to adapt to change, from localized disasters such as storms or floods to millennial changes in climatic conditions. Pandemics are one of those things that Mother Nature sends to test us, and she has done so quite frequently over the past 10,000 years. They have become particularly widespread and deadly as the world’s population has increased and contact between communities around the world has been easier.

It does not matter where such diseases start. The infection patterns all appear to have followed trade and travel routes, carried by people and vermin following their normal paths between local communities and around the world. The next one, and there will be more, will be similar although one can hope that nations will be better prepared to recognize infections and have the resources to prevent their wholesale destruction.

In Canada today, almost 17,900 cases have been confirmed. We know there are more as not everyone who has symptoms has been tested. The overall rate of increase is hopefully slowing. The next couple of weeks will tell us for sure. We know the numbers change hourly but a snapshot now gives us a good indications where we are and where we might be going.

Provinces in Canada are gradually rolling out projections as to where they think Covid-19 cases will go and what deaths might be expected. They are not pleasant numbers to read.

Last week British Colombia looked at their history and current level of infections and believe their final totals will be well below 200 cases per one million population. Ontario and Quebec numbers are likely to be much higher. Alberta expects thousands of cases and hundreds of deaths. And on top of that, massive unemployment due to the downturn in our primary petroleum industry. Numbers from all sources are daunting but there is also confidence we will come through it.

As of 7 April 2020 the provincial and territorial numbers were:

Province	Total Cases	Day Over Day Increase	Total Deaths	Total Recovered
Alberta	1,373	1.8%	26 (1.9%)	447 (32.6%)
British Columbia	1,291	2.8%	43 (3.3%)	805 (62.4%)
Manitoba	217	6.4%	3 (1.4%)	21 (9.6%)
New Brunswick	105	1.9%	0	39 (37.2%)
Newfoundland & Labrador	228	1.0%	2	49
Northwest Territories	5		0	1
Nova Scotia	310	5.8%	1	66
Nunavut	0		0	0
Ontario	4,726	8.7%	153 (3.2%)	1,802 (38.1%)
Prince Edward Island	22		0	6
Quebec	9,340	8.8%	150 (1.6%)	720 (7.7%)
Saskatchewan	260	2.8%	3 (1.1%)	88 (3.8
Yukon	7		0	4

It is heartening is that the group of those who have recovered is also growing – over 4,050 as of yesterday (22% of total cases). Deaths at 381 is very sad but represents about 2% of total cases. When other countries are reporting 10% and higher, we can take some comfort. The right actions and rules appear to be in place.

The message is still very clear from all regions, though, and that is to STAY HOME as much as possible.

And keep that sense of humour...

Diary: Living with a pandemic 23 (Sunday 5 April 2020)

When you are apart from family and friends, whether by order or voluntarily, you spend a lot of time tuning into TV programs or doing things alone you might otherwise spread out over days and weeks. It can be particularly lonely when your children are far away or in other ways prevented from visiting.

We were able to Facetime with our son and his family today who are in self-imposed isolation in Amsterdam. It is trying for them to not be able to work, go to school, visit with friends or travel. It is equally difficult for us to not be able to see them and our other children and grandchildren in person. Phone and video calls are a great way to keep in touch. Our daughter also called today to set us up with more streaming channels, something we will enjoy immensely. We’d be lost without WiFi, and, of course, the care and attention of our children.

In all the news broadcasts and commentary that we are subjected to these days, there is little that brings positive or upbeat feelings. 

One that was uplifting, though, was the short address by Her Majesty, Queen Elizabeth II. It can be viewed here.

It was not a long speech, nor really a speech at all really. The Queen took the time to praise health care and other essential workers who give tirelessly to assist both the sick and the needy and to give her best wishes to people all over the world, who like us may feel isolated. She is a generation that we can relate to, directly and through our parents. Her calm demeaner and direct message was in direct contrast to the many other ‘leaders’ we have heard too frequently across the airwaves, and whose capability for sympathy, strength, inspiration and resolve could never come close to matching.

One does not have to be a royalist supporter to learn from or appreciate these occasions. The Queen’s message offered us a chance to quietly take stock of what we have, what we can do and where we might be going, ending her address with the words from another time, but as distressing to the generation it was intended for, “We’ll meet again.”

Diary: Living with a pandemic 22 (Saturday 4 April 2020)

Pulling together

What helps makes success in fighting a widespread disaster such as the Covid-19 virus attack is a community pulling together. A government obviously needs to lead the charge. Citizens need to buy into the plan to defeat the foe. And all parts of the community, particularly businesses large and small, need to participate. That is what we hope we have in Alberta right now.

Alberta Bits and Pieces Program

In his address to Alberta citizens and resident on Friday, Jason Kenney, Premier of the province of Alberta, announced a new program to bring as many elements of the community together to help fight against the pandemic, saying “If you are a manufacturer, if you produce goods that could be in any way useful to this fight against the pandemic, we ask you to come forward, offer your help and show us the kind of Alberta spirit in innovation in production that we can generate to help fight the pandemic.”

Kenney went on to say he was “deeply touched by the outpouring of support we’re seeing from private and non-profit organizations, both foreign and domestic. When times are tough, Alberta’s spirit of ingenuity and generosity always answers the call. Albertans are leaders, and I’m humbled to see our province leading and giving back in so many ways. The offers and innovation we’re seeing take place across our province right now will help our government meet the demands and challenges we face today, and the ones we’ll face in the future.”

The program highlights Albertan ingenuity and generosity. Over the past week, more than 1,100 offers of support have poured in from private and non-profit organizations through the Government of Alberta’s Bits and Pieces program including offers of passenger and commercial vehicles, hotel rooms and mobile trailers, food and water services, hospital gowns, face masks, ventilators and other personal protective equipment.

The program is named after the “bits and pieces program” established by Canada’s Minister of Munitions and Supply during the Second World War, C. D. Howe. The program coordinated innovative production and procurement efforts from across the Canadian economy to support the war effort.

·         Bruce Urban, the owner of Western RV, reading a post from one health care worker who needed to stay away from her family in case she might pass on the virus, offered up “whatever you need, whenever you need it” to Laura Schnell, who said that every day when she leaves work, she sanitized her car when she could find wipes, showered as soon as she walked in her house in the evening and that also did her laundry every day. Two of her children are toddlers and her husband has underlying health problems that put him at higher risk. (from a Global News piece). Urban went on to say, “These medical workers are scared,” he said. “And they put on a brave face every day and they go to work, and they have to come home to their families. They’re scared, they’re on the front lines, they’re human beings.” He and his employees are working to ready and send out at least a half dozen RVs to people who need them to rest and keep away from others.

·         Another example is ATCO, the Alberta-founded and based company that got its start providing trailers for the oilpatch and is now best known to Albertans as a provider of gas and electricity, which has offered to contribute up to several hundred trailers if needed. These could be used for COVID testing, treatment and quarantining, especially in rural and remote areas without adequate medical facilities.

·         Calgary-based Fluid Energy Group has signed a letter of intent with the federal government to produce hand sanitizer.

·         The Rocky Mountain Soap Company in Canmore received certification from Health Canada to create a naturally derived hand sanitizer that is available online.

·         Alberta Garment is transitioning to produce hospital gowns.

In addition to many local companies offering and innovating to provide products, Alberta’s post-secondary institutions are leading in areas of research, with a group of researchers at the University of Alberta working to develop a virus-killing medical mask.

Municipal Affairs Minister Kaycee Madu also praised the groups and individuals who have offered all they can to support those who need help. “We look at every submission and we. . . I look forward to continuing to watch [these generous offers] pour in for the good of our province and our people. This will help us meet the demand for critical products and services and to keep Albertans safe.”

Kenney reiterated that “Winning the battle against COVID[-19] will involve all of us. Government obviously has a big role to play, but at the end of the day, victory will depend on the strength of our entire society, on families, on charities, on businesses [and] on civil society groups.”

While our case numbers continue to rise, so too does the level of volunteers, both individuals and businesses, to assist their neighbours in providing shopping services, personal protective equipment, health products, meals, and a myriad other products and services.

Diary: Living with a pandemic 21 (Friday 3 April 2020)

Looking on the positive side. . .

We are fortunate to live where we do. As I read about what is going on around the world, and even across Canada I can count many things that show our lives could be very much worse.

1.      Although Covid-19 cases are still growing here, they are a relatively small number compared to our population and certainly compared to other parts of the country and the world. We know the peak may be yet to come, but the city and provincial authorities are competent and working hard to contain the virus as well as take care of those who unfortunately contract it. Our economy is taking a beating, but I am sure we will be able to ramp it up again once the virus has run its course.

2.      Our local grocery and drug stores keep stocked up although there always seems to be a few things that are in short supply. As pointed out the other day, stores are assisting shoppers in keeping their distance from one another and in keeping their premises clean and sanitized. There is no fear that we will all go hungry or not be able to get our pills.

3.      We have the Internet to keep ourselves in contact with our family and the world, even the bad news that comes across in emails and on websites. I can continue working on my hobby of genealogy and research information online for articles I have on the go for future publication. There are lots of websites full of data I can look at and online courses and webinars to participate in. I will even be giving a webinar myself in May.

4.      We have several streaming options, thanks to our daughter, which gives us access to TV programs and movies from many parts of the world. These sources are expanding their content these days so there should be lots of programs to choose from if we need to stay put for a long time.

5.      We have a large condo which gives us the space to be apart but still together. If we had to individually self-isolate, we do have two bedrooms with ensuites. When the sun finally comes out and the snow stops here, we will be able to enjoy the fresh air sitting on the patio. I read a column by Chris Selley in today’s newspaper in which he compared his small 500 sf apartment to other places he has lived and wondered how he might fare in Canada’s largest city if he had to stay within its walls for more than a few weeks. Many people, though, do not even have that. We don’t see our neighbours much expect to wave at them from a distance, but we know they would be there to help if we needed them.

6.      I can still take my dogs for walks around the neighbourhood. Many people do that here, so while we need to keep our distance, person-to-person and dog-to-dog, at least it gets us out of the house. It will be so much better when it warms up and spring really arrives, though.

7.      Our family in other parts of the country and the world are safe and well. That is very important to us.

8.      Most importantly we are healthy and safe.

Occasionally, or perhaps frequently, we need to deal with positive elements around us. Too much concentration on the dire aspects of the pandemic will only lead us to anxiety and despair. We recognize that it is very important to be careful in our connections with others. But we still have to stay in touch with friends and family.

Diary: Living with a pandemic 20 (Thursday 2 April 2020)

One Million. . .

. . . people have now been confirmed around the world to have contracted Covid-19!

That is a depressing statistic. Even more surprising is that arguably the most advanced country in the world, the United States, leads with almost a quarter of that number.

This happened in spite of people and governments knowing months in advance that this virus had the potential to spread from China around the world and the best way to control infection rates was to keep people apart from each other. It is scary to think where it might go from here in many parts of the US, where already it seems out of control. Many individual states have as many sick people as whole countries in other parts of the globe.

We can only hope that those in charge take all measures to deal with the disaster.

We have our own challenges in Canada but there are signs that the right actions have been taken early enough to make a major difference in our infection rates. The word continually goes out to people to STAY HOME as much as possible.

Thank you to all those working in health and other essential services that are keeping us safe and fed.

Diary: Living with a pandemic 19 (Wednesday 1 April 2020)

Physical Distancing. . .

. . . involves taking steps to limit the number of people you come into close contact with tht is believed will help to limit the spread of COVID-19 in the community.

There is still, surprisingly, a vary large difference in how this idea is being applied around the world. In many areas, even countries, the idea of keeping one’s distance is a recommendation; in other regions it has become the law. Where we live, Alberta Health Services has set out these guidelines, among others, and apart form mandatory self-isolation:

All Albertans are asked to practice social distancing to help stop the spread of COVID-19. Social distancing involves taking steps to limit the number of people you come into close contact with. It can help you reduce your risk of getting sick, and help prevent spreading the virus to others..

This is not the same as self-isolation. You do not need to remain indoors, but you do need to avoid being in close contact with people.

To protect yourself and others:

·         Keep at least 6 feet (the length of a bicycle) from others when going out for groceries, medical trips and other essential needs

·         Limit the number of times you leave your home for errands

·         Try to shop at less busy times

·         Order online to have groceries or other items delivered if possible

·         Go for a walk in your neighborhood or park while maintaining distance from others

·         Avoid overcrowding in elevators or other enclosed spaces

·         Follow Alberta’s recommendations on mass gatherings

·         Wash or sanitize your hands after touching communal surfaces

  

We are, though, restricted from being part of groups larger than 15 people and are “prohibited from attending public recreational facilities and private entertainment facilities, including gyms, swimming pools, arenas, science centres, museums, art galleries, community centres, children’s play centres, casinos, racing entertainment centres, and bingo halls.” There are measures in place to enforce physical distancing under the Provincial Offences Procedures Act.

Initially this was called Social Distancing, but as the crisis has progressed everyone realized that we should not stay away from communicating with friends and relatives. We should just not meet with them in person.

Grocery and other stores that sell necessities, are being required to have hand sanitizer stations. They are also marking arrows on aisles to direct traffic and keep people from having to meet other in the middle of a shelf area. Their checkouts are also marked with positions where people should stand, and many are protecting their cashiers with plexiglass shields. And, of course, as I have written before, most stores now offer times specific to us older people so that we do not have to be in groups of shoppers.

Stores are now again using single-use plastic bags for packing goods. Reusable bags have the potential to retain the virus for more than a day or two and their use is being discouraged. Any potential harm to the environment is taking a back seat to safety.

There is a great website here that shows how physical distancing looks in many countries around the world. It applies to all manner of activities from shopping to schools and libraries to parks, although most jurisdictions have stopped the public from using even open-air attractions like parks and playgrounds.

Physical Distancing is not just a good idea, it is really the best and perhaps only way progress can be made in slowing or stopping the spreading of Covid-19.