Pandemic makes other disasters seem puny
Pandemic is a disaster that occurs every day and we have no idea when it will end
Many of us have become inured to the once-inconceivable realities of COVID-19.
We have dutifully altered our lives, our routines, to suit the adverse circumstances that have unfolded over the past two months.
Social distancing, which was not part of the lexicon when the new year dawned, has become a way of life.
A visit to the gym, the library or the movie theatre has become unthinkable. But how often do we really blink anymore?
That is not to suggest that the bad news, disseminated during the daily updates from the federal and provincial governments, is dismissed or disregarded.
As long as there is one case of COVID-19 in Saskatchewan, or anywhere, there is a cause for concern and the imperative of precautions.
There are times, though, when the reality of this pandemic becomes all too stark.
Brian Stelter, the host of CNN’S Reliable Sources, painted that picture Sunday. Although his commentary focused on the prevalence of COVID -19 in the United States, his words should resonate well beyond any boundaries due to the context and perspective they provide.
“The economic crisis and the health crisis are both daunting,” Stelter said. “The death toll in the U.S. is nearing 80,000. Those are just the cases we know about. Most experts believe there’s an undercount.
“We’re talking about more fatalities than during the Vietnam War or any terror attack in the U.S. or any hurricane in modern American history.
“And while grounding in the horrors of the past helps us to see the magnitude of what’s happening right now, COVID -19 is different. Hurricanes hit, but they run out of energy.
“Right now, there are so many unknown variables. There’s so much unknown about this pandemic that it’s impossible to know when it will be over. But still, we reach for comparisons.
“Think about Hurricane Katrina, where at least 1,800 people died along the Gulf Coast. This week, there was a daily average of 1,900 deaths — so, basically, one Hurricane Katrina every day.
“And just like with Hurricane Katrina, that’s only an estimate. We still don’t know exactly how many people died from Katrina. We probably won’t ever know exactly how many people died from COVID-19.”
The death total in the United States passed 80,000 the day after Stelter spoke.
Suppose that the entire population of Sioux City, Iowa were to be wiped out in two months. That, in a nutshell, is the numerical toll COVID -19 has exacted in the United States.
“Let’s just think about this,” Stelter continued.
“There are between 1,000 and 2,000 deaths a day. It’s as if 10 planes crash every day and we just expect it to happen tomorrow. It’s as if New Orleans floods every day and we just assume it’s going to happen again tomorrow.”
In the case of COVID-19, there isn’t one cataclysmic event that serves a daily dagger. There isn’t a defining image, such as that of a flooded city or a mangled airplane.
The vast majority of the victims, regardless of whether they recover from or succumb to the virus, suffer in silence. The same applies to their friends and families.
Oftentimes, people are separated from their loved ones at a time of crisis, exacerbating the already-excruciating emotional pain.
Funeral homes have become overrun. Memorial services have been delayed.
Such is the new routine — miserable times, typically far removed from the lenses and public scrutiny.
Then you are presented with the raw numbers, which escalate by the minute, and are reminded of how tragic these times have become.
More than 5,400 Canadians — roughly as many people as reside in, say, Meadow Lake — have died from COVID-19.
Who knows what the total will be when this is all over?
And when will this be all over? Will it ever truly end? To what extent have our lifestyles been permanently altered over the past two months?
Definitive answers are as elusive as a vaccine.
The smartest people are working around the clock, across the globe, in the hope of finding a cure or a surefire form of treatment.
In the meantime, our lives and regimens will continue to be affected by airborne particles that, despite being too small to see, lead to numbers that are much too large to bear.