What A Crazy World

So, I’m sure we’ve all experienced this lately. I know I have. Specifically since about March 7th here in Alberta. Unfortunately, we had literally used our last roll when we went to the store to get more and realized how little there was. 

So why exactly is everyone stocking up on toilet paper? 

From what I’ve been able to tell, most people are stocking up in case they end up in the two-week quarantine we’ve come to be familiar with in relation to covid-19. Some people have expressed concerns that it’s the end of our modern world. Maybe they think toilet paper production will be shut down for good and this is their last chance to get some, maybe some people think they’re stocking up on the new world's currency and some people heard plants were shutting down in China and thought they’d be affected (A large amount of Canada’s toilet paper is produced in western Canada, don't worry). 

More likely than all that? Chances are people are stocking up on items to take advantage of the desperation that will come out of a shortage and they intend to resell it at a higher price and make a profit. 

THIS. IS. ILLEGAL. 

If you see it on Kijiji, or Facebook marketplace and are really cheesed about the fact that someone would take advantage of the fearful public like that, report them to the police. It might seem like a waste of police time but they are here to keep us safe and to uphold the laws we chose so don't be shy. Just make sure you report it using the non-emergency line that way police can properly prioritize emergencies. (google should be able to give you any towns non-emergency line number here is the one for Edmonton: 780-423-4567, and for Calgary: 403-266-1234)

I know my schooling has been disrupted by COVID-19. The remainder of this semester's university courses are now online. I have midterms, finals, papers, research ect. due soon and the method we need to prepare for each thing needs to change so much from being able to do this in person. Of course, the research will be postponed at the very least. While the school has decided to remain open for now, many students, including myself, no longer feel comfortable going to the library to research papers. Thankfully a large number of papers are available online for most classes, but not all. I’m most concerned for our labs, I have no idea how we’ll be learning the info we signed up to learn but I sincerely hope it happens. Even with all this frustration and all the anxiety about changes, I am very thankful for all my profs who are struggling to switch our courses into online material. I know there are profs who have never really used our online system and are now forced to figure it out. Not an easy feat with the time crunch they’ve been given. 

My student groups have been impacted as well. We’ve have had to halt planning for events these clubs were intending to host this spring. It’s been difficult to finish up club forms that need signatures. We’ve suspended meetings and I’m sure this will hinder voting for the next group of executives, hopefully not too much though. 

I know one really odd thing for me was signing up for next terms courses. It seemed extremely surreal to be planning next years courses with all of this going on.

I’m glad I wasn't scheduled to graduate this year, in a way. I hope those of you graduating are finding away around this craziness. 

I would like to start off by saying this is my opinion on the matter but it’s not too far off of what we’ve been hearing for so long. 

We all know that the coronavirus has spread here quite quickly. Not as quickly as some places but we all need to take this VERY seriously. We are aware of what's happening prior to hitting the tipping point. We need to wash our hands, sanitize our items as they come into the home, wash doorknobs and so on. Don’t panic. The government has planned for the worst-case scenario. I know that the majority of Alberta has problems with the current government situation but you know who has been planning for this exact scenario for literal years? The government. Not only that, but they’ve also been up to date on this every step of the way and have all the information available to them and specialists to help with whatever they don't understand. They can help us if it does get that bad but we need to do absolutely everything we can to prevent the spread of this and hopefully prevent the need for  

There is no need to panic. That will only make things worse. What we need right now to protect our province is clear, planned decisions from all members of society. Yes, feel the anxiety we are all experiencing. Reach out and discuss it with people you trust or complete strangers, don’t keep it to yourself. We’re all very worried. We’re all are experiencing the same thing. Just keep in the mind the repercussions of meeting people in person right now. Especially when we have the technology to keep in touch with people without actually sharing a room with them. Use skype, use face time, Facebook video calls etc. to keep in touch. 

We all want to go back home, to visit family and friends but before you do think seriously of the implications. Anyone showing symptoms can leave infectious traces on surfaces for 24 hours. Anything you touch. Some people might be able to fight it off by following proper handwashing practices and by not touching their faces but some people are immunocompromised and are at far greater risk. Don’t take the risk. if you feel sick, stay home. if you’ve travelled recently stay home. If you’ve been near someone who’s travelled, stay home. And while you’re at home monitor yourself for symptoms. Do it for yourself or do it for your family members. Just be cautious and be aware. I know we’re all human (I have even accidentally made the mistake of drinking from another person coffee cup by mistake, it happens) but now is the time to be extra vigilant, extra aware. 

This is definitely a time when we need our community more than ever but we need it to be there without being in large gatherings. Keep yourself safe. Stick together. Don’t play the blame game, we’re all at fault at this point. Don’t be racist it’s not necessary we’re all Albertans, we’re all Canadians. 

I love raves. The music is great and the community is amazing. I had plans to go to EDC, to Lost Lands, and to a few events here in Alberta as well. I still have hopes for some of the summer events but the ones that were happening in the next few weeks at least have been cancelled. I’m honestly devastated to hear that I’ll have to miss them but I’m also happy the province is taking control of these things. 

Some conferences and community projects were cancelled or postponed. International flights for speakers were cancelled and it's ridiculous to think going door to door would be safe right now.  

I had events planned for the end of the University term to celebrate finishing another year, but for the time being, those are cancelled as well. 

I’m not very active in my community and didn't have too much planned as I’m quite busy with school but I can only imagine the kind of events people are missing because of this. 

A short summary of events so far (also found on WHO webpage) 

- Dec. 31, 2019 - first case of pneumonia with unknown cause in Wuhan China reported to WHO. 

- Jan. 13, 2020 - First case confirmed outside of China, in Thailand. 

-Jan. 21, 2020 - Test kits and fever clinics were started in China and were released along with protocols to other countries. 

- Jan. 25, 2020 - A free course about the coronavirus was made available (follow the link at the end of this post to view the course yourself.) Available in English, French, Spanish and Chinese (I would hope this covers most languages spoken in China but I’m not sure) 

- Jan. 30, 2020 - Outbreak declared a public health emergency of international concern. 

- Feb.11, 2020 - WHO has named the new strain of coronavirus COVID-19

- Feb. 12, 2020 - Experts meet to diagnosing and prevention methods. The Crisis Management team is activated by the UN to be led by the WHO. 

- Feb 17, 2020 - Public advised to take considerations for mass gatherings and info on how to detect and take care of ill travellers with COVID-19.

- Feb 25, 2020 - WHO experts travel to Italy to understand the development of events there and support infection prevention and control as well as surveillance and risk communication. 

-Feb. 26, 2020 - Guidelines released to business owners to prevent the spread of illness when employees travel. 

- Mar. 2, 2020 - WHO experts arrive in Iran to identify transmission dynamics and at-risk populations. They also provided guidance on strengthening the response and readiness efforts including protective equipment for medical teams and test kits. 

- Mar. 3, 2020 - A shortage in PPE for medical staff was reported worldwide. To meet the increasing demands, manufacturing must increase by 40%.

- Mar. 4, 2020 - A lot is known about COVID-19 for the length of time it has been around. It’s been identified, a genetic sequence has been identified, PCR (polymerase chain reaction) and serological assay (results of a study of human immune responses) are in use. 

- Mar. 6, 2020 - A plan for future research and long term goals for therapy and vaccines was released. 

- Mar. 7, 2020 - 100,000 cases reported from over 100 countries. (aka the day that Albertans bought entirely too much Toilet Paper) 

- Mar. 8, 2020 - WHO urges every country to take preventative measures to slow the spread of the illness. 

- Mar.10, 2020 - WHO releases a film called Ask WHO, answering the publics’ questions about mental health and stress prevention during the outbreak. 

- Mar. 11, 2020 - WHO announces that COVID-19 is classified as a Pandemic. The first-ever pandemic caused y a coronavirus. 

- Mar. 13, 2020 - WHO announces its first-ever fund which allows anyone from across the world to donate in the hopes of creating a way to fund the global response. (If you wish to donate:  bit.ly/COVID19Fund #coronavirus). Guides for caring for individuals, managing cases and early recognition are released. 

These are all the updates present on the WHO webpage right now, however, they have links to twitter pages, press conferences, news releases and situation reports and more on their web page.