The first, best chance

Think about it this way: we really only have one chance to get it right.

Or else, all the hard work and economic sacrifice we've done for the last month or more will be wasted.

There are starting to be rumblings about the possibility of lifting some COVID-19 restrictions as the provinces of Newfoundland and Labrador, Prince Edward Island and New Brunswick have had few new cases of the virus.

Nova Scotia's not there yet, showing higher infection rates at the moment than its Atlantic counterparts. Fifty-five new cases and four deaths were reported on Thursday, and the outbreak at Northwood long-term care centre is complicating the province's strategy for opening up.

New Brunswick's premier, Blaine Higgs, put it this way on Tuesday: “We need to bring New Brunswick back. We need to create a province that, you know, gets back to its economic viability and its lifestyle, and people feel that sense of purpose, and the benefits that exist from living in our province.”

He hasn't put a date on any reopening, saying the move has to be slow and careful.

He's right about that, as reopening some things is an idea that is being cautiously examined.

In P.E.I., Dr. Heather Morrison, the island's chief public health officer, said the province is looking at restarting some elective surgeries, and perhaps permitting a return to some outdoor activities in the first two weeks of May. After that?

“The next phase being some of those small businesses and what ones can maintain physical distancing,” Morrison said Monday.

Newfoundland and Labrador Health Minister Dr. John Haggie is pragmatic about the fact that, even though new cases have fallen off in his province, changes will not be coming right away: “The one characteristic we're going to need over the next three or four weeks is patience, because even under the best of circumstances, this virus will still affect people.”

Slow and steady is definitely the order of the day.

As P.E.I. Premier Dennis King put it on Monday, “I would equate it to walking to a small town in Saskatchewan . ... You see it out there and you keep walking, but you don't seem to be getting any closer. But eventually we will get there.”

It's not just a question of when we manage to get there; the real problem is that we might create a situation where we have to go back to the beginning and start all over again.

And no one wants that.

Keep your distance, wash your hands. This is not the time to drop your guard. Be safe.