COVID-19: A world in flux

In a world where everything seems to have changed in the past seven days, here in Powell River, businesses and facilities are closing doors and people are staying at home. On Wednesday, March 18, the BC government declared a provincial state of emergency. The reason: COVID-19 pandemic.

“I want to assure citizens that their council is closely monitoring the situation and we promise to keep you informed,” said mayor Dave Formosa in a media release issued by the City of Powell River on Monday, March 16. “This situation is fluid and information could be changing by the hour. It should make us all proud and give us each a sense of security that we’re coming together as a community to help each other through this crisis. We’ll get through it together. That’s the Powell River way.”

Daily media releases from the city keep the community updated on closures and cancellations, and a lot of these activities are coming while following orders from the provincial health officer Dr. Bonnie Henry.

qathet Regional District has closed its doors to the public while keeping staff on hand to answer phone calls and emails, according to a news release on Wednesday. Tla’amin Nation Government Office closed to the public on Thursday with employees available via telephone and email.

For non-emergency matters, RCMP is asking people to phone first before going to the detachment (604.485.6255) and is halting all administrative services, including civilian fingerprinting and criminal record checks. “Police will be responding to 911 calls and crimes in progress,” stated Staff Sergeant Rod Wiebe in a media release provided by the city. “While we will still respond to calls for service, we will be limiting officers attending priority three and four calls. This means if the incident is not in progress, an officer will most likely follow up with you via the telephone to determine if attendance is required.”

Dental offices have closed until at least March 22, according to Dr. Ryan Sinotte, who said there are guidelines that the BC Dental Association and the College of Dental Surgeons of BC have published for dentists to follow. “The overview of what they want offices to do is to close, or at least suspend all elective treatments and perform emergency treatments after a patient has been thoroughly triaged over the phone to determine if patients have symptoms of the virus, and whether it’s a true dental emergency,” he said in an interview with the Peak. The exception is Dr. Smillie’s office, which is currently open for emergencies only.

Public gatherings, at first of more than 250 people, and, as the week has progressed, now of 50 or more, have been cancelled across the region. The annual Seedy Saturday was one of the first events to go. Schools have been cancelled, and with Spring Break in full swing, school trips have been grounded. Provincial and national championships for sports have unceremoniously ended.

Families are adapting to members being sent home from the workplace, with those who can do so working from home, and those who cannot, taking forced, sometimes unpaid, leave. Strains on the household budget are starting to show.

Phrases such as “social distancing” and “flatten the curve” have become common vernacular. The former is a guideline for keeping two metres away from each other, except immediate family, to reduce the opportunity for the virus to spread. The latter has to do with limiting the spread of COVID-19 and not letting it play out as it has been doing in other countries worldwide.

More actions, closures, cancellations are happening daily and it seems no carefully planned event is immune.

The chaos caused by the spread of COVID-19 leaves many unanswered questions. With diligent handwashing and social distancing the curve can indeed be flattened, but over what period of time? Where does this leave graduation ceremonies, PRISMA and International Choral Kathaumixw?

To stay up to date on announcements relating to the COVID-19 pandemic, visit prpeak.com.

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