THE VIRUS IS KILLING US; IT'S TIME FOR PLAIN TALK
Most people are doing the right thing, but it's not good enough, Steven Lewis says.
We are facing a persistent challenge from China in the forms of hostage diplomacy, regional aggression, economic coercion, human rights abuses, and more. With that in mind, it is time to consider Taiwan. Scott Simon
There is no charter right to put other people at risk and prolong the misery. Our policies, rules and guidelines are not suggestions or a menu from which to choose.
I truly wish that the compassionate, intelligent, and earnest public health messages on how to contain the COVID-19 virus turned Canada into a pandemic-slaying superpower. It would be even better if success required only that most people do the right thing most of the time. Sometimes that's enough: If 95 per cent get vaccinated against measles, no one gets measles, including the five per cent who free-ride on the collective sanity of others.
For COVID-19, successful, population-wide vaccination is many months away. In the meantime, there is no magical cure.
Exposure and infection are only a bad break or a lapse in vigilance away. Even an unusually civic-minded population that takes its cues from solid science is vulnerable to a virus this contagious, stealthy, and dangerous. Most people are doing the right thing, but it's not good enough without major policy reinforcement. In 2020, we have gone from the early, optimistic calm, to the initial storm, the apparent victory, and the second wave. Governments have relied on selective policies and chief medical officers have been reluctant to challenge their masters publicly even as the policies fail.
Behold the result. Inspired messaging and treating us all like responsible adults aren't cutting it. I'm no fan of coercion, and shaming is a poor behaviour-modification strategy. But we're losing the battle. It's time to find another gear.
Here is what we need to hear from the chief federal and provincial medical officers:
Greetings, fellow Canadians. Thanks to the great majority of you who have self-isolated, got tested, donned masks, and made huge social and economic sacrifices to contain the pandemic. You have prevented a great deal of sickness and death. You should be proud of yourselves.
Yet things are getting worse. The virus is a formidable enemy. We have learned a lot this past year about what succeeds and what is destined to fail. It's time to put this knowledge to work.
First, we're going to level with you. We don't know everything about how COVID spreads, why it infects some and spares others, why some experience no symptoms, and others suffer for months. We can't tell you to the second decimal point the risk inherent in every commercial setting, work site, and activity. Nor is there ironclad proof about which restrictions are necessary to put the pandemic behind us and which are not.
If we demanded complete certainty before we acted, we would do nothing, and the devastation would be unimaginable. We have to rely on the best available evidence even if it is incomplete and open to dispute.
Second, the jurisdictions that have done the best locked down hardest. They set their sights on zero or nearly zero daily cases. They didn't think there was a Goldilocks solution — just enough restrictions to keep case numbers at low and sustainable levels, but not so many as to lay waste to the economy. Like Canada, they didn't want to shutter businesses, keep friends and families apart, or impose curfews. Like Canada, they are deeply concerned about the impact of lockdowns on mental health. But unlike Canada, they reasoned that decisive, even arguably excessive measures would yield faster and more durable success. Maybe they will be proven wrong, but so far, their resolve and discipline are paying off. Many fewer have become infected and died. Their streets are alive again.
Third, we acknowledge the legitimate debates about which measures are essential to contain the pandemic, whether the harm caused by lockdown exceeds the harm caused directly by COVID-19, and whether restrictions unduly infringe upon individual liberties. There isn't and won't be consensus on these matters. Action cannot await unanimous agreement or the wisdom that comes with the benefit of hindsight.
On many issues, the Canadian instinct is to let principled objectors go their own way, a generous impulse grounded in respect for autonomy. But often we subordinate autonomy to safety. We fine people who don't wear a seatbelt, even though not wearing one doesn't affect people in other cars. We accept speed limits, zoning bylaws, and many other restrictions as part of the social contract. There are grey areas where individual rights and the common good are in delicate balance, but COVID isn't one of them. If only a few people flout the rules, whole communities can be at risk.
The numbers don't lie. We are failing. There is no charter right to put other people at risk and prolong the misery. Our policies, rules, and guidelines are not suggestions, or a menu from which to choose. They are mandatory and must carry the force of law. To the virus, a gathering in a church is no different from a gathering in a bar. It will not declare a Christmas truce so you can safely host a large holiday dinner.
Throughout the pandemic we have urged you to be kind to each other. Doing what is hard in service of others — for some, doing what you sincerely believe to be wrong-headed or unfair — is the kindness that will get your community through a pandemic.
We hope everyone, including the dissenters, will voluntarily do their part. We prefer reason and persuasion to orders and punishment. But in a pandemic where everyone is a potential danger to others, while your right to voice your objections is absolute, you have to follow the rules.
We're no longer asking, we're telling, and defiance will lead to consequences. Otherwise the virus wins.
We regret it has come to this. We will regret it more if we refuse to act on what we have learned.