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So far, 2020 has not been the year we all hoped it would be. Instead of celebrating the beginning of the new decade, we are dealing with the awful reality that is the coronavirus. The coronavirus is a virus that originated in China in late December 2019. Three months later, the world is shutdown with more than one million confirmed cases (Mayberry et al, 2020, para 1). Coronavirus is a part of a group called Coronaviridae, which is a group of viruses that are transmitted from animals to humans. The Canadian government has reported that over 70% of the cases in Canada have been due to community transmission, compared to less than 30% due to travelling (Government of Canada, 2020, figure 3). In the past month, I have seen many changes in the small town I live in to prevent the spread of COVID19. Some changes include: lockdown at the retirement home, closures of small businesses, and different initiatives community members are taking to help each other. In this essay, I am going to discuss these changes, and how living in a small town impacts my experience during the coronavirus outbreak.
Retirement Home
The Retirement Home
According to the Globe and Mail, over 600 retirement communities across the country have COVID cases as of April 2nd (Bein, 2020, para 1). I work at the local retirement home in town. In the last couple of weeks, the building has been on lockdown, meaning only residents and employees are allowed to enter. Whenever anyone enters the building, a nurse has to screen them. The residents are still doing their regular activities inside the building, but they have cancelled all outings. If a resident goes to a doctor for any reason, they have to go into a mandatory 2-week isolation. These residents cannot leave their rooms, and they have to get food delivered. The cornonavirus is very concerning because the elderly with underlying health issues are the most susceptible to the virus, and many of them do not have the immune system to fight it (Liu et al, 2020, para 1). We have taken proactive measures to fight the virus, but I would be devastated if any of the residents contracted the virus.
Figure 1. Restricted Access to retirement home. April 4th, 2020
Businesses
Small Businesses
Global News reports that a quarter of small businesses do not believe they have the financial resources to lose more than 50% of their monthly income (Hensley, 2020, para 1). Many businesses in my town have been suffering in the past month. The businesses that are still open have been getting limited customers, and many have had to shut down. One local business that really stood out to me was the sit-down restaurant in town. They shut down their dining room, but have kept delivery options available. A couple of weeks ago, we got takeout and the owner gave us two slices of pie to thank us for buying their food. This shows that small businesses care about us during the shutdown. Local businesses are also helping each other to ensure everyone survives. The retirement home is doing a Facebook draw for two $50 gift cards to the local Italian place, and the food will be delivered to your door. This shows that small businesses care and support one another.
Figure 2. Abandoned parking lot during global crisis. April 5th, 2020
School
School Closures
On March 12, Doug Ford announced that all publicly funded schools in Ontario will be shut down for two weeks (now extended to May) to stop the spread of COVID (Westoll, 2020, para 1). The closure of schools reminds me of the Night Surf by Stephen King. In the Night Surf, a virus that originated in South East Asia has spread around the globe. In the story, the main character describes how the virus caused all schools to shut down (King, 1969, pg 56). Like the Night Surf and schools around the province, the local high school has also shut down. The high school consists of about 400 kids that live locally. Due to the small size of the school, all the teachers know and care about all their students. It has been three weeks since the students (my brother included) have been out of class. This week, homeroom teachers called all of their students to make sure they are okay and have the proper technology to do online schooling. This is very impressive because I can’t think of any other school that is checking in on every single one of their students. One of the benefits of going to a really small high school is that no student is forgotten during this crisis. I know many schools cannot communicate to all their students on a personal level, but I am very glad I went to a high school that have the resources to do so.
Figure 3. High school wishes students safe March break. April 4th, 2020
Social Distancing
Social Distancing
According to a professor at University of California, one infected person will infect about 2.5 people in five days, and in 30 days over 400 people will be infected (Singer, 2020, figure 1). This reminds me of the short story Blood Music by Gregory Bear. In Blood Music, one person becomes infected with self-aware cells that controls his whole body. By the end of the story, the main characters have transformed into giant cells, with the prediction that they will spread to the rest of humanity. Blood Music reminds me of the coronavirus because it shows how one person becoming infected can infect people around the world. One way to prevent the spread is by social distancing. Social distancing dictates that no more than five people can be in a group with each other. Last week, the municipality shut down all local parks to ensure that people are staying at home. This is a scary time for kids because they are used to playing in the park on a nice April day, but instead have to see tape surrounding the playground. The municipality has also implemented a fire ban to prevent housefires. This prevents firefighters from going to homes. This also prevents people from having gatherings of more than five people. It is very important as a community, we stay home and do not interact with people who live outside of the house. This is a very scary time, but the sooner we take this virus seriously, the sooner we can escape quarantine and return to our everyday lives.
Figure 4. Caution tape around park to prevent play. April 5th, 2020
Community
Community
Even though we cannot physically interact with them, neighbors are supporting each other during this crisis. Every Christmas, my neighbors always do a huge light display at their house. They took down their lights a couple of months ago, but they have since put some back up to bring cheer in the neighborhood. They also used blue strands of lights to display their support for essential workers who risk their lives to ensure that the rest of us will survive. Every year, my town does an Easter egg hunt to celebrate the holiday, but that has been cancelled this year. Instead, they are asking families to color Easter eggs and tape them to their front window. On Easter, parents will drive their kids around town to find as many Easter Eggs as they can. This allows the community to still celebrate Easter while not physically interacting with each other. Even though our community has been impacted by the virus, it is nice to know that we are still caring for one another.
Figure 5. Blue lights to support essential workers. April 4th, 2020
The coronavirus is a global pandemic, and there are small towns everywhere that are being shut down. This isolation forces us to rely on each other as a community more than ever before. We have been forced to change how we live our life, but we will get through this together, even if we cannot physically see each other. This course has taught me that if we want to see change, we are going to have to adapt. If we want to see the end of the coronavirus, we have to stay at home and close non-essential services. Even though my town only has 2000 people, we are still very much impacted by the coronavirus outbreak.
Figure 6. Nightfall on a deserted road. April 5th, 2020
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