Get on same page

Fifteen months into this pandemic, you’d think by now this region’s political and public health leadership would have ironed out any kinks in working together.

Atlantic Canadians have done their part. They’ve sacrificed and worked hard to follow public health restrictions. They’ve improvised in the face of closures of retail stores and services, school shutdowns, travel restrictions and group-size caps. They’ve grabbed vaccination appointments as soon as available.

Businesses in the region have hunkered down and done their best to survive, though many have been reeling from — or sadly have succumbed to — devastating losses of revenue.

Most people also understand the burgeoning, far more contagious Delta COVID-19 variant has changed the game. They accept that although everyone’s tired of restrictions and we all yearn for a return to normalcy, we need to be prudent in reopening, to ensure we don’t spark another new wave of infections and deaths.

BORDER DEBACLE

That said, what Atlantic Canadians expect is for our political and public health leaders to work together to ensure they’re on the same page. They expect when governments announce COVIDrelated plans, they’ve consulted enough so the public can have confidence in what they’re saying.

In this week’s debacle in Nova Scotia, Premier Iain Rankin betrayed that trust by abruptly — with hours to go — cancelling scheduled plans to fully reinflate the Atlantic Bubble by keeping border restrictions with New Brunswick. On Thursday, those restrictions were tweaked but remained.

People who had made travel plans for a myriad of reasons based on government announcements were left in the lurch. Businesses counting on cross-border traffic were dealt another blow.

The unexpected news no doubt caused further stress for those whose mental health has taken a beating during the pandemic.

Atlantic Canada’s leaders need to get their act together.

Yes, the Delta variant is serious. But COVID cases are very low right now, across the region. They’re also dropping rapidly right across Canada. Ever-higher rates of vaccinations, and prudent public health restrictions, are working.

STRONG INCENTIVE

We know fully-vaccinated people have excellent resistance to even the Delta variant. In the U.K., where the variant has been studied extensively, it’s been shown that even one vaccine dose makes hospitalization 75 per cent less likely. (It’s 94 per cent for the fully vaccinated).

Given the above, why wouldn’t we completely open up to anyone fully vaccinated (with approved vaccines) who tests negative on a COVID test, regardless of where they’re coming from?

That’s a strong incentive for the vaccine-hesitant to get it done.

Until there are approved vaccines for youth under 12, travelling with children will be more complicated, but — with leadership working together — that challenge can also be managed.

Most of all, we need faith that our leaders — political and public health — are pulling as one.