COVID-19: We must not allow fear to rule
A news outlet in Cochrane, Alta., put it succinctly. Cochrane Today said: “It’s not rocket science: Mass hand washing, not hysteria, will prevent spread of COVID-19.”
Too many people, however, aren’t getting the message. Grocery stores across Canada were overrun by panicked shoppers yesterday and no doubt the same thing is happening today. For some reason, toilet paper has become a precious commodity. Have people not read that COVID-19 is a respiratory sickness, not a diarrheal disease?
Lineups at many stores clogged grocery aisles, leaving no room to move. People were loading carts with absurd quantities of all sorts of canned goods, water. Police had to keep order in some stores.
What are we doing to ourselves? Are we collectively losing it? We’re only beginning to feel the full effects of this pandemic and we’re already devolving into mass hysterics.
Anyone who insists they’re not feeling a degree of fear, worry, anxiety and a touch of panic about the coronavirus probably isn’t being entirely honest. It’s new. It’s still largely unknown. And even if we’re not worried about ourselves, we’re worried about our kids, our relatives, especially if they’re older, and our friends. That’s understandable. It’s OK to admit it. It’s healthy to talk about it.
It’s less healthy to bottle it up. And it’s even less healthy, and potentially harmful, to let fear take over our lives and common sense. If we allow our civility (which isn’t up to snuff these days at the best of times) to start slipping, we’re playing with fire (cue Guns N’ Roses, “Welcome to the Jungle”).
We are really dealing with two pandemics. One has arrived, that’s the coronavirus. One is threatening, that’s societal panic. It’s no overstatement to say the second could do more harm, and last longer, than the first if we don’t guard against it.
None of this is to minimize COVID-19. The news just keeps getting worse. Cases are growing. More events are being cancelled. More institutions are shutting their doors and relying on remote contact and work. We are in uncharted territory.
But our public health system is intact and doing its job. We’re getting regular, credible communication from experts.
It’s true, the politicians are not helping. After days of minimizing the crisis, U.S. President Donald Trump has declared a national emergency. How can he go from downplaying it one day and acknowledging it’s an emergency the next? Because, he’s Donald Trump, that’s why. But such instability doesn’t send a good message.
We don’t have that, at least not on the national level. We do have Premier Doug Ford, who advised Ontarians Thursday not to worry, take March Break trips and have fun. And within 48 hours of that frivolous prescription, his government was closing schools, banning large gatherings and advising against any international travel, including to the U.S.
Inconsistent messaging like this can only make matters worse. People want calm, consistent, firm direction. When they see political leaders saying something that runs dead against what credible medical and health experts are saying, it creates confusion and uncertainty. A politician who cannot clearly and concisely repeat what health experts are saying has no business making public pronouncements and recommendations.
This is bad. Downright scary. But let’s not lose ourselves. Let’s not be selfish. Buy extra, but don’t pig out. Think about other people as well as yourself. Listen to credible experts. Get your information from credible sources. We’ll get through this, provided we don’t allow animal instincts to rule the day.