Remember the COVID 19 clinic? It was top of mind 2 months ago. A new clinic, a novelty, something a lot of us were afraid of. Remember admiring the front line workers and all the symbols and tributes we saw everywhere in honour of them?
They are not in the news as much anymore. So much has consumed us in the last three months. It is hard to keep anything top of mind for too long. This amazing clinic was created by some pretty incredible people in Guelph; Ross Kirkconnell, the executive director of our beloved Guelph Family Health Team, Camille Loucks and Rea De Lafreniere, the lead nurse practitioners, all the administrative staff, the nurses, NP's and MD's that still man this clinic everyday, 12 hours a day, 7 days a week for three months now.
The work at the beginning was steady I remember my first shift there. It was surreal. The fear was palpable. The world had just shifted on it's axis creating this strange feeling of unsteadiness, dizziness. Remember that? We did not leave our houses. We were completely locked down and terrified. My practise became all consuming about 6 weeks ago and I started giving up my shifts at the COVID clinic just to stop the insane 65 hour work weeks. I am far too old. But they kept going and I think they are getting exhausted. The pace has picked up with over 300 people seen this past Friday, and 8,000 tested since the clinic opened. It will be this clinic and the testing they do that will contribute enormously to ending the pandemic. There are many other clinics like this one in this province and across the country. Their work did not end when they no longer made the headlines. They will be in it for the long haul.
Can we put them back in the forefront of our minds again? The need our moral support. Drop off some food, send in some gifts, put up those signs that support front-line workers again. Remember them. Their work has really just begun. They could use your donations too. The need for supplies is endless. Thank you for supporting them up until now. Let's get behind this marvellous team again.
That initial fear pushed us to follow some pretty difficult lock down rules. The streets were empty. Only essential workers were out and about. But that lock down has done some incredible things. Today, there were only 360 new case of COVID 19....in the country and only 181 in Ontario. These are magnificent numbers. Most of the public health regions had fewer than five new cases today and almost all the province will slip into phase two this coming Friday.
There were nine new cases in Guelph over the last week which is concerning. This is in part due to the increase in testing, a small outbreak at a company in Guelph and possibly from the protesters last week. More folks are heading in for testing so that they can visit their relatives in LTC facilities. They can't visit unless their COVID 19 test is negative. A smart move by the province on two levels: we will keep COVID 19 out of our long term care homes and we will encourage more widespread testing. The physician in me wishes we could stay locked down for two more weeks. We would get to zero cases very quickly but when all things are considered, the timing is right.
It is not time to go back to normal. It is not time to celebrate with a backyard full of people or a parade down the main street or with drinks at a bar. It is not time to gather in groups greater than 10 or be shoulder to shoulder with anyone outside your social bubble. It is time to wear a mask, everywhere in public and to adhere to the physical distancing and phase 2 rules. The frontline workers, health care workers, lab technologists, nurses, doctors and administrators are tired. We are afraid of what might happen if this virus surges again. This team of people need a rest, not an increase in work. And no one needs to become seriously ill from COVID 19 because we let our guard down. A surge is not inevitable. We can avoid it by following the rules for however long it takes to completely smash this thing.
Please keep it up. COVID 19 is still out there and none of us are immune. Assume that every place you go, every interaction that is too close, every public surface you touch puts you at risk for becoming infected and keep up the good fight.
God Bless our COVID 19 clinic team. I am cheering you on and praying for your strength and protection.
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CMHA WW Website: www.cmhaww.ca
Here 24/7 at 1-844-HERE-247 or www.here247.ca.
And for post-secondary students, Good2Talk
https://good2talk.ca/
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