Today the Canada/US border was closed to all unnecessary traffic, bringing Canada one step closer to a full shutdown. Shipments and commerce will continue, and a friend of mine who works for a US airline has confirmed that their company will completely shut down flights from US to Canada after the 21st for the foreseeable future.
Numbers keep going up in bad ways. The percentage of closed cases resulting in death has now gone up to 10%. At one point it was as low as 6%. This feels almost juxtaposed with the amount of known active cases in serious condition sitting at 6% (the lowest I’ve seen it at). Check out Worldometers for the latest updates: https://www.worldometers.info/coronavirus/
My biggest concern here is if hospitals become too overcrowded like in Italy. Don’t look at Italy’s numbers though, they’re quite unsettling.
Today Trudeau announced tons of support for Canadians who are off work because of COVID-19. That’s unexpectedly relevant to me because…I’m now off work for 2 weeks (minimum). I’m not sick, and don’t have any symptoms of anything, but I have made the conscious decision to not put myself and especially my very immunocompromised mother at further risk than necessary. Going to work means taking the bus multiple times a day and being in a situation where it’s extremely difficult to keep my work space effectively sanitized (despite significant efforts). Currently I am on an unpaid leave, and will be surviving on a limited budget from my savings. Luckily I am somewhat prepared in this regard, and also have a decent amount of canned foods etc should it come to it. When saying my goodbyes to my co-workers, one of them took a moment to put on a glove, and gave me one to put on as well, just to shake my hand goodbye. It nearly brought a tear to my eye, I was very touched. I’m confident this was the right move, maybe even a little late in the doing. It’s still scary though. Nobody wants to be without a source of income at a time like this.
On Friday I’ll be seeing my doctor about some ointment for my hands, which have become so dry and cracked they’ve developed a rash. I suspect it’s from all the hand washing and hand sanitizer I’ve been using. I’m going to take the opportunity to get his (hopeful) approval on my quarantine for my mother and my sake. My work doesn’t require it, but having his certification may allow me to collect EI should the need arise.
With no active day job, and no social interactions outside of the house, I look forward to my slow devolution into cabin fever madness… (I kid, I kid)
BC COVID-19 Info 