By Kendall Worth!
I have been asked time and time again, since the middle of January to write something on COVID restrictions for my BLOG. I did not act on writing up this BLOG post immediately for 3 simple reasons.
Reasons#1 - As this post explains, more and more welfare recipients have returned to living their normal life as it use to be, before COVID, but not everyone is ready.
Reason#2 - We know that COVID restrictions could not last forever and we saw many people (e.g. truck Convoy and Anti-vaxx rallies) wanting rid of masking and restrictions. In addition, it is difficult for the people who I advocate for, to get good info on COVID risks and restrictions. Although nothing is mandatory – public health still recommends, masking in busy public places, keeping your distance, and getting vaccinated and boosters.
Reason#3 – Since July 2022 I have been having conversations with contacts in the financially better off community, who actually brought to my attention that living with the COVID Lock-Downs, and Restrictions was very stressful. Some of them actually told me that they it helps them relate to how people living in poverty feel, all the time. Some financially better off contacts I talked to over these past past few months have brought to my attention that in their personal opinion it was the stress that the financially better off were experiencing that brought on the Trucker Convoys and Anti VAX Rallies. In this post I actually speculate that the rallies might never have happened without that stress.
I am writing this BLOG post on Sunday February 12th, 2023 and it turns out that some, if not many, who are part of the Community of People I advocate for, want 3 COVID Public Health Measures to be mandatory once again. They remain public health advice but who gets this information??
However, I want to clear that the community I advocate for is in no way in favour of lock-downs and travel restrictions etc. like we have had in the past. They want:
Mandatory mandates for masking in public buildings, and mandatory social distancing, to return.
Mandatory Isolation of 7 days for people who test positive for COVID, and fines for those who refuse to isolate. More access to PCR testing, and in cases where the person required to isolate is homeless, then provide a solution – for example -- where a hotel room and access to food is paid for during those 7 days. Current public health advice is only to isolate until you are without symptoms, or if you go out wear a mask.
More data and more information, spread further, esp to protect the older folks and people with immune system or other compromised health conditions. We need to keep in mind that people who are poor have less access to online and other public info. This info is so little available that people have been asking their doctors to write notes for ailing relatives to explain it is not safe to attend large family gatherings. Doctors will not write these notes but admit that we need to get more information to people. (Alternatively if gathering is not too large - all in attendance need to test same day, and even that is no guarantee, as you can shed virus before you test positive. )
I interviewed three people for this post – I am going to call them Al, Kate and Lori, although those are not their real names. While interviewing them, at their request, I kept my distance and wore a mask the whole time.
Although I specifically interviewed three people, from time to time especially since January, informants have told me, that they see evidence that people are once again showing up at Souls Harbour, Hope Cottage, Dartmouth North Grove, the Social Clubs of CMHA Halifax/Dartmouth Branch, Brunswick Street Mission, Etc. with COVID related symptoms. Many in the community have recently told me that they have been missing accessing their meals from these soup kitchens and avoiding the Drop-ins, as their way of protecting themselves from catching COVID.
Al Brought up that he recently had a family members who passed away because of COVID. He told me that this is one of the reasons why he has been missing meals lately is because he is trying to protect himself. On Income Assistance cheque day he used $100.00 of his cheque to buy 20 “Microwave Dinners” so he will not go hungry this month while avoiding Souls Harbour.
Kate brought up that one hour after leaving the breakfast at Brunswick St. Mission she tested positive for COVID. There were others that morning showing COVID symptoms. She, herself, may have infected people unknowingly. She is not alone feeling more socially isolated again these days because of the reasons to avoid these places.
Lori who also tested positive for COVID after a recent day of visiting two Soup Kitchens is very nervous because in a couple of weeks time, she has a family gathering to attend. She is one of the people asking her family doctor for a note to provide information to health compromised relatives, and suggest they should look at the risk of attending, and maybe consider avoiding the event. She does not want anyone at the event, to pass COVID onto them, but wants to help keep them safe.
So they all have different reasons for wanting some restrictions… we also have to take the rest of the world into account. Why do people resist these simple restrictions (not lockdowns!) Are masks so difficult?
So I say Lets find all the ways we can to keep each other safe!
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