Signs of the Time
Was it complacency or just optimism that had us ignoring the COVID-19 warning signs?
Was it complacency or optimism that had us ignoring the warning signs?
HOW COULD WE have thought we’d be immune? As late as early March, we were going about our normal lives, even as we watched devastating scenes from hospitals in Italy and Spain. I am mentally kicking myself, though it is early for hindsight. As of this writing, we may be at the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic, but our leaders are warning that the lockdown could continue for months.
We are better prepared than some countries because of the lessons of SARS. But those preparations did not account for the particular deadly quirks of the novel coronavirus or the complacency that took hold in the 17 years between the two pandemics. Our leaders are us, comfortable citizens of a prosperous land, who have never been through the hardships our parents and grandparents faced.
I’m looking back at my own record of ignoring the signs, starting with my husband’s return from a trip to Borneo and Vietnam at the end of February. Doug came via the airport in Taipei, Taiwan, one of the few countries that managed to contain the spread of the coronavirus, taking early rapid action without resorting to draconian measures. Being excluded from the WHO due to its adversarial relationship with China, Taiwan chose to implement its pandemic plan developed during the SARS crisis of 2003.
Doug told me he was screened for fever numerous times while he was in the airport. He was the only person without a mask – a stranger reached into her purse and gave him one. I shrugged when he told me this, parroting the guidance at the time that airport temperature checks would not catch most cases and masks were unnecessary.
I wasn’t oblivious. Our news team began covering the story in early January and, by the 21st, I started devoting frequent half-hour segments on my radio show Fight Back With Libby Znaimer. On that first day, I described it as “a scary new threat to public health that is reminding us of the SARS outbreak in 2003.” In a nod to my recollection of SARS, a lot of our early coverage focused on the reprehensible racist backlash against our local Chinese communities and the damage to businesses in our Chinatowns. But there was no inkling that soon enough, almost all businesses would be devastated.
I kept repeating that “authorities are reassuring us that the risk remains low.” At this point, the number of cases was still in the single digits, and the mounting toll overseas did not make me confront the possibility that the same could soon happen here.
My friend Michina is from Italy and goes back frequently to visit family. When she cancelled a trip in February, it was because she was worried about getting caught up in a travel ban. Then the parish priest she grew up with became one of the early victims. Michina changed her attitude. I didn’t.
I covered the Ontario Liberal Leadership convention on March 7. More than 2,500 people were there. A few were elbow bumping in greeting but, like most, I did not shrink from hugs and air kisses. By then, we realized that travel, at least to and from affected areas, was the source of the problem. But inducing people to change their March break plans was a hard sell. Our last in-person taping of theZoomerTV was on March 11. One of our guests, Ontario Medical Association president Dr. Sohail Gandhi, tried to convince another panelist not to get on her flight to Florida. He was unsuccessful. That evening, I attended my last performance before theatres went dark. On the weekend, I played my last tennis game before our club closed. Later, I had my hair coloured, realizing that service would soon be shut down. I marked each of these losses but did not add up the sum of the parts. By nature, I am optimistic. Sometimes it’s a flaw.
The crisis has made me thankful for what I have. My family and friends are all well. I still have a paycheque and a purpose – since media is deemed an essential service. I live in a harmonious home with my husband, and we have everything we need. I think the country is fortunate, too – at least relatively. And I’m confident the tragedy will finally make us confront and fix the appalling way we care for our elders in long-term care. Like I said, I am an optimist.