B.C. needs to urgently find a more sustainable balance between those suffering from COVID-19 and the damage our communities are suffering from the restrictions in place to slow the spread of the virus.
Since the virus arrived earlier this year, B.C. and Sechelt have focused on doing whatever it takes to prevent people contracting the virus, or worse. And we have been tremendously successful. For a population of five million to have only 1,724 diagnosed cases and 87 deaths (as of Tuesday) is extraordinary. I expect our record is envied by many if not most countries and jurisdictions around the world.
Unfortunately, the path to achieving these results has impacted us in ways that could well exceed the harm from COVID-19.
For example, B.C. has less than 200 people diagnosed with COVID-19 in hospital, leaving many of the remaining 5,000 hospital beds lying empty. This when, since March 15, tens of thousands of people have had their surgeries cancelled. What price do we put on the suffering of those awaiting their procedures?
We have every level of government taking on huge debt to fund the numerous support and stimulus programs needed because our economy is substantially shut down. The burden on everyone, and particularly our younger generations, to repay these debts in the future is daunting.
Perhaps the greatest risk is the social and emotional impact on everyone. Sadly, the rapid and unparalleled changes in our lifestyle from the virus and our response to it will likely result in dramatically more mental health issues, suicides, domestic violence and untreated overdoses, to name just a few. Any one of these places huge burdens on society and our quality of life for decades into the future.
Clearly, we will need to be vigilant against the virus for years to come. The good news is that everyone has done their part, so far, and we have all learned a great deal. We are learning more every day and things like the ability to do more extensive and accurate testing are not far off. My point is that should a “second wave” of the virus come this fall, we already have the tools and procedures to respond effectively and efficiently and we’ll have more and more over time.
I believe it is now time for us to focus on the other health care as well as the social, emotional and economic needs of our communities. If this means relaxing some of the COVID-19 focused restrictions and accepting the consequences, I believe we can manage this.
Our government leaders need to actively support and encourage every business sector to restart their businesses in a staged and prudent manner, in the weeks to come. We need to find ways to give everyone hope and a positive vision for the future.
Let’s get people back to work and off the financial support programs. Let’s find innovative ways to get children back to school, to have their end-of-year celebrations, to find summer jobs and to enjoy modest, appropriate holidays. And, please, let’s implement procedures and provide funding to effectively care for and protect our elderly.
We can do all of this, while continuing to act responsibly to protect each other’s health. That is how we will defeat (or at least effectively manage) the scourge of COVID-19 so that it doesn’t dominate our quality of life going forward.
Mr. Henderson is a former Sechelt mayor and is currently chair of the Sechelt & District Chamber of Commerce. The views and opinions expressed herein are his alone.
