Opinion

Hospitals in B.C. are going to continue preparing for the worst even if some of the more drastic public health restrictions start to ease slightly next month. An extensive briefing by Health Minister Adrian Dix and provincial health officer Dr.

Premier John Horgan appeared buoyed Wednesday by what he called “off the charts” public support in B.C. for the drastic measures imposed to curtail the spread of COVID-19. He’s not going to be able to count on that for the duration.

We are all living in a period of high anxiety, distress and uncertainty as COVID-19 has upended our lives.

The root of anxiety is uncertainty: insecurity around jobs, our health and our families’ health is suddenly filling our reality with uncertainty. The structure we created in our pre-COVID-19 lives made us feel in control and safe.

We’re at the finger-pointing stage of the pandemic now. That’s the part where we demand to know why our leaders A) didn’t see this coming, or B) saw it coming but failed to react quickly or decisively enough to head it off.

B.C. is not only faring better than most other provinces in dealing with the COVID-19 pandemic, but it’s also ahead when it comes to a key public health action.

Are you tired of working from home?

The cost of fighting COVID-19 is far beyond anything imagined in B.C.’s planning for the economic disaster that accompanies a pandemic.

You may say you fear the wild animals of the woods. I have been a woodland hiker for many years and the animals I truly fear are those who sit astride their mountain bikes and careen down the trails at breakneck speeds.

When an outbreak hits a community, one of the most urgent things people want is information. This is human nature, as information allows us to protect ourselves, our families and our loved ones.