Preparedness, Not Panic, Encouraged During Calgary’s State of Emergency Status.

Things are getting real out there with the spread of the COVID-19 virus. Calgary has declared a state of emergency, as a measure to slow it’s spread, but the overall message is ‘let’s not panic!’

You can read Calgary’s state of emergency details here:

https://calgaryherald.com/news/local-news/city-declares-state-of-local-emergency-in-response-to-covid-19-spread/

I watched a W5 where one of the lead doctors of W.H.O (World Health Organization), Bruce Aylward, talked about the coronavirus and admits that the numbers should not panic us, but we should have a healthy respect for the spread of the virus.

NOTE: (I consider Bruce Aylward a credible source and his predictions of how this will continue have been right so far. Make sure you are looking for credible sources!!)

The reach and speed of this virus is “unprecedented” but not “uncontainable”. We should NOT feel helpless or panicked. The vast majority of the cases will not kill a healthy person. In fact, it has been described as a respiratory illness- aka, a bad case of pneumonia, basically, in a strain we aren’t aware of yet…which is still scary, and I don’t want to undermine how serious it is, but there is a ray of hope here.

COVID-19 could be contained, and the spread of the virus slowed down, IF WE FOLLOW SOCIAL DISTANCING GUIDELINES CAREFULLY!!! Optimistically, we can expect that a vaccine could be created in 6-12 months, but that would be fast and medical officials cannot really focus on investigating until new cases of the virus slow or stop.

It’s very important to follow social distancing and isolation guidelines. You can never tell if the person who you just passed in the grocery store is immunocompromised or a doctor or nurse. The first person would get very sick very fast- and if all the health care workers get sick, then we have no one to help cure the immunocompromised person- and us. The problem with COVID-19 is that you can be contagious but asymptomatic for a long while.

The best explanation of COVID-19 is from “Dr. WHO” on W5, so I encourage you to watch his interview on the online episode.

You can watch the full episode here:

https://www.ctv.ca/W5/Video/S54E25-W5-Dr-WHOPlea-for-Mercy-vid1762678

China took it seriously and encouraged social isolation plus dedicated hospitals to COVID-19 patients. They’re able to contain and treat the virus quickly and efficiently. Canada went along as if life was normal, and now that the virus spread is at its peak, we have to take precautionary measures to slow it down, lessen the load on the medical community, and give experts time to create treatment methods.

The state of emergency Calgary has declared is one of those precautionary measures. Slow the spread before it gets worse and encourage a certain amount of social isolation, which is proven to work:

https://finance.yahoo.com/news/chart-1918-spanish-flu-shows-173312236.html

We should have a healthy respect for this virus and follow the guidelines put in place by CREDIBLE OFFICIALS. Guidelines include:

  • have enough food for 72 hours (no need to stockpile!) and enough toilet paper for a week
  • wash your hands for at least 20 secs with soap
  • don’t touch your face unless you’ve washed your hands
  • work from home if possible
  • avoid large social gatherings
  • avoid traveling outside of the country
(We’re a happy foursome of nerdy introverts.)

School is cancelled for my kids, indefinitely, which makes sense. It’s a good thing my family is a quartet of nerdy introverts with enough books, board games, and movies to last us a lifetime. I don’t think we will get bored. (I have a million things to do around the house and two million hobbies!). Plus, thankfully, my husband can work from home if it comes to that. We are very lucky.

My heart goes out to all of you that are missing out on work or struggling to find a place to send your kids so you CAN work. Leave comments below to reach out and have a virtual shoulder to lean on. Sometimes talking it out can help (Even if it’s typing!).

And, as Mayor Nenshi reminded us in his speech, “outdoors isn’t cancelled”, so going for walks, playing outside and visiting parks (NOT playgrounds), are all available to squelch the boredom. Thank goodness the weather will be better soon!

If you are curious, there is a an interactive map of active COVID-19 coronavirus cases and I would point out we should focus on the victories- there are more RECOVERED cases than sicknesses or deaths.

LOOK AT THE RECOVERIES. Then silently cheer. You can find the link here:

https://coronavirus.jhu.edu/map.html

Recently, I’ve been reading Tank Girl. Who doesn’t love Tank Girl? The post-apocalyptic, everyone-for-themselves feel is a bit too real right now, if you know what I mean. It’s almost comforting, in a strange way, to feel less alone. I know that I’m not the only one seeking out similar movies and books. If you look at Netflix’s most popular shows, they’re all pandemic related.

So, let’s be what Mayor Nenshi encourages, and be a community that supports each other, bands together, and has that community spirit. We’re in this together. Let’s be magnificent, follow the guidelines and navigate this new “normal” together, as a team.

As Tank Girl says:

.

.

Related Post:

1 Comment

Leave a Comment

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.