For the past three months, social gatherings, travelling, and for many, going to work, have been replaced by physical distancing, isolation and strict measures to slow the spread of COVID-19.
But for some, enough is enough.
“Were tired of hearing about it and dealing with it,” said one anonymous Vancouver Island resident at the Swartz Bay Ferry terminal Monday.
“It is kind of fatiguing and I understand that some people are getting tired of it and some people are getting frustrated with it,” said another.
And the numbers back that up.
In a survey done by the Angus Reid Institute, just 36 per cent of Canadians say they’re avoiding public spaces as much as they were in the early days of the outbreak. Twenty-eight percent are feeling anxious, while 31 per cent are feeling fatigued. And now only 46 per cent of people are worried about catching the virus, down from 73 per cent in early April.
“People are still worried about friends and family outside of their household, getting sick. They’re still worried about community transmission, but we’re seeing levels of concern about personally getting sick falling to where they were in late February, early March” said the Executive Director of the Angus Reid Institute Shachi Kurl.
Places like gyms and restaurants are once again open and seeing more and more traffic by the week.
Here on Vancouver Island, there hasn’t been a confirmed case of COVID-19 since May 22, perhaps giving a false sense of security.
And on Monday, Dr. Bonnie Henry, the provincial health officer, reminded everyone that the battle is far from over.
“It is easy sometimes when we are in this place that we’re in to lose sight of the fact that this pandemic is far from over. There continues to be no effective treatment and the virus will continue to spread for months to come” Henry Said.
Ben Nesbit
