Changing gears

This week, the provincial government undertook their reopening strategy, with some younger children on their way back to school (except for the greater Montreal area) and various other industries coming back online.
The government has brought forth their case for such an aggressive timeline, citing the low rate of serious complications from cases in children, and the need for parents to return to the sectors of the economy that have been brought back.
However, despite their assertions that data will be monitored closely and “ça va bien aller” as the ubiquitous slogan says, there’s plenty of reason to that neither reflects the current scenario.
Quebec has the largest number of cases in the country and resorted to calling in the military to ameliorate the situation in the province’s long term care facilities (CHSLDS). Why the province has been Canada’s epicentre is an ongoing mystery that’s still being solved. Could it be the earlier March break? The dismal state of our province’s health care system? The historically higher rate of cigarette smoking among Quebecers? There’s a whole lot going on here.
It’s true that the outbreaks are centred around Montreal, and largely limited to these types of confined, institutionalized forms of seniors housing. It might be cold comfort, but plenty of folks around here have been social distancing their entire lives, and avoiding this killer virus is just an unexpected benefit.
The Outaouais has one of the lowest rates of confirmed cases in Quebec, comparable to the isolated, northern reaches of James Bay or Nunavik. Just because there are no cases that have been confirmed in Pontiac doesn’t mean that zero Pontiacers have caught this newfangled virus. We can’t test everybody, but the numbers are promising. There’s nothing special about our preparation or situation compared to other rural locales throughout the province, but it’s a huge plus that we’ve done so well so far.
The rush to reopen industry while still paying lip service to the social distancing guidelines issued at the start of the crisis sends mixed signals. Like previous actions taken earlier in the pandemic, it seems like no one on the ground was consulted before these edicts emanated from Quebec City.
It’s obvious to a lot of teachers and parents that schoolchildren don’t keep their hands to themselves even in the best of times. While they might not exhibit the same adverse symptoms as adults, they can still infect countless family members, classmates or strangers.
Current estimations show that only a fraction of families will be sending their kids back to school, and even in those cases, the parent(s) might be stuck between a rock and a hard place.
On top of that, the restrictions on the borders have been rescinded, but the the powers that be are still asking folks to stay within their regions unless absolutely necessary. In an area like this, with limited options for groceries, clothing or other essentials, crossing the river is less of a luxury and more of a necessary part of life.
With increased travel to and from the region, school (kinda) back in session and some beautiful weather on the horizon, it will only be a matter of time before people start to let down their guard and relax their distancing efforts. We’ve done extremely well limiting the spread of COVID in Pontiac, it would be a shame to let it all go to waste by trying to rush the transition back to “normal life”, whatever that’s going to look like post-pandemic.

Caleb Nickerson