As the COVID-19 pandemic continues, millions of people across the country are wondering just when will life return to normal? In Canada we’ve now entered week five of social distancing and isolation, and it appears that won’t be changing anytime soon.
“This challenge is nowhere near over. How soon we get there and what that new normal will look like will depend on our actions right now.” Said the Chief Public Health Officer of Canada Dr. Theresa Tam.
Many Canadians appear to be bracing themselves for the long haul. A survey completed by the Angus Reid Institute shows that, 41 percent of respondents say they expect it will be three to six months before things are back to normal, while 43 percent think it will be longer then that.
In British Columbia, it appears there’s still no timetable as to when our path back to normalcy will begin, as Health Officials must weigh all possible scenarios.
“What are the things that we need to get our economy, our communities, getting people going and what are the things we need to do in our health care sector that we can manage so that we can take care of increased numbers of COVID-19 should we start to see them without compromising the rest of the care system.” Said Provincial Health Officer Dr. Bonnie Henry at her briefing at the BC Legislature on Monday.
Around the globe some countries have began to start slowly attempting to climb there way out of living under strict measures. Washington state officials are now looking for an opportunity to re-open the economy, but today the world health organization is reminding everyone, this a marathon, not a sprint.
“The way down is much slower than the way up. That means controlled measures must be lifted slowly.” Said the Director-General of the World Health Organization Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.
It appears our new normal will continue on, as the old normal awaits on the other side of a dark cloud of uncertainty.
Ben Nesbit
