There’s a lot of mixed messaging about COVID-19 right now.
Our neighbours to the east have lifted all restrictions. If you test positive for COVID you don’t even have to isolate and there will be no more contact tracing.
On Aug. 8, Premier Jason Kenney said he won’t “take lectures” from Patty Hajdu, federal health minister, on how to handle COVID.
“If they really are that concerned about COVID, then why is she getting ready to put up campaign signs?” he was quoted saying in a Canadian Press article.
Meanwhile, in the Central Okanagan mask mandates have returned, limitations put on gatherings and bars and nightclubs ordered to close, after almost 1,200 cases in a week.
“We’ve started to see that about 80 per cent of the cases in Interior Health are the Delta strain,” said provincial health officer Dr. Bonnie Henry.
She is calling on everyone, especially young people who were at the end of the vaccination queue, to get vaccinated.
“We’ll make it as easy as we can for you to do that. It’s the most effective way to bring the Central Okanagan outbreak under control,” Henry said.
The difference in response is rather shocking and begs the question, how will Alberta’s response impact us here in B.C.?
Will Revelstoke businesses be notified if their Albertan guests later test positive for COVID?
The BC Centre for Disease Control reported three COVID cases in Revelstoke between July 25 and July 31. It is the first time there has been more than one new case in the city since the week of April 25 to May 1.
As of Aug. 6, there were 2,719 active cases of COVID-19 in Alberta. In B.C. there were 2,066 active cases. Across the country as of Aug. 9, there are 10,734 active cases and a total of 26,670 deaths.
According to the World Health Organization there are currently 461,377 new cases world-wide. August 8 saw more than 14,000 new cases in the U.S.
I once again find myself wondering what the best way forward is. Will we see more restrictions in Revelstoke? Can our businesses handle that? Should I be restricting myself even if the province isn’t, so that I don’t get sick? Will my parents, who live in Alberta, be okay?
Why can’t someone just get it right!
It is kind of surprising how fast things have gone back to normal. The borders are opening. Strangers are dancing in parks. People are hugging.
So the thought of wearing a mask in the heat is heart breaking. The worry, for many I think, has shifted to smoke and wildfires, even on the first blue-sky day in a month. But I don’t think we are out of the pandemic woods yet and I hope we all make it through.