YIKES

Yesterday was the calm before the storm. In more ways than one.

COVID variants are popping up in many locations and today we return to the provincial colour coded system.

Some in the health care system are bracing for a third wave. That terrifies me. We are all exhausted already. Some say the third wave could come on quickly and be the worst one yet. That's not fear mongering; these predictions are based on good science and what we now know about the transmissibility of these variants. They spread quickly and are likely more dangerous.

So, today, the basic rules do not change. You do not head out into a snowstorm without good clothing and equipment: Hat, gloves, heavy coat, solid boots, snow tires, a shovel, windshield wiper fluid.

Please, do not head out this week in your newly colour coded region with lifted restrictions without a very, very good three layer cloth mask or two- two layered masks that fit snug to the face covering the nose completely and stretching from ear to ear.

In that grocery store, retail store or restaurant stay six feet apart and leave the mask on in between bites at your table. Not enough is known about these variants to be certain they do not travel in the air from table to table.

AND most of all, do not gather inside without adhering to restrictions. Our health unit is in the red which means five can gather inside. That includes your bubble. My husband and I could potentially have all three of our kids for dinner next weekend. WE total five so no one else but them. But, we must stay six feet apart, wear masks and I am sorry kids but we are all eating in separate rooms.

These new variants will whip through an indoor gathering where restrictions are not being adhered to. Fifty to seventy percent more transmissible. NO one in a room with an infected person stands a chance. Sadly, this is where we are.

But not for long. Prepare yourselves for the COVID-19 vaccines. They are coming. The CEO of Pfizer and Moderna are now ready to deliver the vaccines they promised in the first quarter of this year, with 1.5 million more doses more than we expected and by April, millions of vaccines. I will keep you well informed as we roll out the plan of who gets vaccinated and where. No worries about that. Six weeks. We are out of this dark, cold and lonely winter in under six weeks and the world will look very different when we see our friends and families getting that vaccine.

Cheers on the blustery, February day!

Anne-Marie

Please share.