Unprecedented...

Downtown Peterborough on a sunny summer day.

Indeed, this is an unprecedented situation. The Covid-19 Virus has been more than well documented, and the story is not finished.
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But perhaps we should look at a few other unprecedented things that are going on. Acknowledging first the fact that there are indeed precedents. Viral outbreaks in many forms have fundamentally changed society in the past.

Multiple examples of unimaginable sacrifice can also, and should also, be brought to mind. The Greatest Generation is a term used to describe those who grew up during the Great Depression and fought in World War II, and those whose labour helped win it, as one example.

But most people are experiencing this level of upheaval for the first time. One of the most difficult aspects of this current situation is how it has gotten worse every day, and if you look back to all of the post-SARS inquiries and reports, perhaps not all of the
lessons were truly learned. But here we are.

There are many things that we should acknowledge:

• The fear and uncertainty of so many employees 
• The stoic reaction of so many businesses, simply shutting down, knowing the ramifications to their staff and livelihood are far from certain. 
• The generosity in the face of it; restaurants dropping off food so that it doesn’t go to waste.
• Businesses pivoting on a dime, in order to ensure some level of online income
• Front line workers, many of whom worked through the SARS epidemic, pushing past their fear and passing on lessons learned to their younger workmates who didn’t. 
• People utilizing social media to make connections and help each other with everything from food to child care.

The unprecedented measures announced by the Federal Government will not solve everything, but they will go a long way to mitigating the impacts, the full extent of which are not yet clear.

Lastly, I have seen some deeply disturbing comments about people, businesses, elected
leaders, public officials, and more about how they are handling this outbreak. Public shaming for any and all reasons is all too common. While it might be wise to simply dismiss the people making these comments as common trolls, it’s also important to make it unacceptable. Everyone is doing their best, and not everyone is shutting down, nor should they.

The Premier did a great job of \listing the sectors that would be closing and those that wouldn’t. It’s important for everyone to realize that an economy is based on jobs. Not every country has gotten it right. Not every elected leader has said the right things. But the focus should be on getting through this. Together.  Be nice.

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