Discussions

It will be a few months yet. And of course the world pandemic will continue until all countries are post pandemic. Covid-19 will always be around but hopefully with vaccines and boost shots will be more under control.  
 
I was thinking of what I would like to stay at that time of post pandemic in Manitoba. Thought I would list them.  
 
-working from home or combination of both. I hope this stays around as a choice for people who want to do it.  
-stay home when you are sick (adults/children) from work/school/shopping. if you need to go out to doctor office or pre&#115:criptions, wear a mask so you don't spread it around. (not like we won't have any in our houses) Illnesses spread like wildfire. It was always the practice to work through while you were sick but that just isn't a smart thing to do and I hope we have learned that.  
-phone call visits with doctors or other professionals that can be done that way. I always thought it was silly to go and sit in a doctor office to just hear oh your blood tests were normal.  
-sick notes not required unless someone is abusing the system and/or taking a lot of days in a row. less strain on the health system and safer for everyone else if you are sick you stay home instead of having to go to doctor.  
-ability of disinfectant your hands when going into a store or other public place. We have learnt over these many months that washing hands frequently helps stop the spread of disease so keeping that up or at least the ability to do that would be nice.  
-social distancing not the 6 feet but more like personal space distancing. before all this I have had people breathing down by neck in a line up or at a till. Even had people shove me with a shopping cart to remind me they are in a hurray.  
-I know people don't like the arrows but I like them especially in those narrow lanes where there is only room for one cart across.  
-plastic dividers that separate customers from each other and cashiers or other business people.  
-regular cleaning of surfaces. doesn't have to be as much as now but it would be nice to go in and see that something is done. especially carts which are harbors of germs  
-shop and pick-up is so convenient for people that I hope that continues.  
-order and deliver is also convenient option.  
-being fully vaccinated in order to travel. is so important that we don't have people coming into Canada bringing further variants.  
 
Other things that I hope will be looked into and not forgotten:  
 
-care homes: need to be inspected very carefully: rules set to keep the people there safe and comfortable. Care homes have been an awful place though a need for people to go. But the terrible things that have come to light need to be taken care of. Our seniors and others need to be respected not shoved into a room and left to die.  
 
-capacity limits: I think as we see with the % allowed exactly what capacity limits are set at: it makes me wonder how these are set. One grocery store (only that) at 10% allowed 88 people in. I thought about the space in the store and wondered how could that store fit in 880 people. It doesn't make sense unless the store is empty. Really a safety issue and the capacity limits and how they are set needs to be reviewed.  
 
-review of health system quickly and have our capacity and staffing increased. We have quickly seen our system is very deficient in many areas. Even before we couldn't keep up with tests and surgeries.  
 
just my thoughts I am sure some will agree or disagree. Maybe you have other ideas you can tell me about.

Edited by admin, 2021-07-06 11:01:52. Reason: required edit

I think these lockdowns have really changed a lot, and I also hope some of it stays. A few points,  
 
Working from home (or a hybrid): I have actually written some articles and given some keynote speeches on this. Disabled people have been asking for this for years, and have always been told: "No, not possible" but all of the sudden the world stops and suddenly all employers are able to accommodate able bodied people. Food for thought for any employers that might be reading this.  
 
Staying home when sick - YES! Fortunately, I work in a palace that has paid sick days, but this should be the law, and of course people need to USE them!  
 
Phone call doctor visits, I have loved these. No longer need to take time off work, can just use my break!  
 
Click and collect, another thing I love and have used for the last 5 years. Saves time and money, which is great!  
 
When it comes to capacity limits, this is oviously done by the fire chief/fire codes. I know it seems like a lot, but every inch of space is considered - like behind counters and back storage.  

Edited by admin, 2021-07-06 11:01:40. Reason: reference to since removed text

Although I do like the few ideas of an "post pandemic" routine being incorporated into a new daily life... I'm always suspicious of the "human nature" that's laying just below the surface in the personalities of some. The abuse of some will ruin for the rest of us. I've seen it happen over and over throughout my life. Working from home? ...There will be those who will take advantage of the lack of supervision and abuse the freedom, only to screw the work policy up for others. Unquestioned or unrestricted sick days for employees and family members? ...Already abused for generations. Unionized folks often use banked sick days as part of their holidays, so that's nothing new. Can't imagine the employer seeing the trust factor getting better with certain staff members if the restrictions were to be removed. Phone visits with doctors? ...Yeah, works for some. But I see problems easily develop in a short time. Health care quality would diminish and the vulnerable will "fall through the cracks" in the system while the abuse would flourish with prescription usage/fraud and unnecessary doctor/clinic charges placed upon tax payers. No sick notes? ...That usually leads to no staff occurring on weekends, long weekends, evenings, holidays, special events, the employees birthday, employees friends & families birthdays and every day when the weather is just so fabulous that people just can't let it go to waste while working. (And don't forget the mornings after those magical days when those employees run off to play) Disinfectant dispensers left out all the time? ...Sure, if that's isn't an open invitation for the mischievous & opportunists, I don't know what is. There hasn't been any self serving or complimentary system or device that hasn't fallen victim to abuse by either the public or by paying clients. A great example would be condiments like ketchup pumps in restaurants being abused or something like that extra roll of toilet paper disappearing in the public bathrooms. Rule of thumb with the mass public... Expect something to be gone or buggered up by the end of the day, if it's left out unsupervised. Physical distancing as a norm? ...That already doesn't happen from those we desperately want to stay away from, RIGHT NOW! These are the ones that somehow they don't see or care about policy, physical barriers, personal hygiene or some stupid lines/arrows or stickers on the bloody floor. A year and a half ago, I would have thought of those as ignorant, but now with all this time passed to be educated, it's plain selfishness from these people and that will never change. The plastic dividers? ...Makes me feel I'm at one of those gas stations in a "bad neighbourhood" along the Interstate Highway where the store gets "held up & robbed" on a regular basis. Wow, this feels safe and welcoming. *sarcasm* Local pick up and delivery? ...Can't argue with that as long as those who want the service are paying for it. I'm not paying with my purchases on something that I'm not going to use. People are weird and selfish creatures that create bad habits simply because it's convenient, easier and that they can get away with it. And it's the last part, "get away with it" that sets up the abuse.  
 
The future ideas for programs in preparedness don't look very positive, either. The "Vax Pass" idea was kinda already here before COVID. ...Anyone traveling other than European Union or North America usually are required to be up-to-date with their shots, especially if they were to get travel insurance. Extending the vaccination requirements for all travel shouldn't be a big deal. Although, there's always someone out there who "gets their nose outa joint" because it infringes their "freedom of choice" kinda thing. ...And with that, that's when Canada and the insurance companies should explain that they will not support them if they fall ill when out traveling or bring them home. It should also be up the traveler to educated & understand that they do not get help/support if denied entry through a foreign checkpoint because of not having a certain vax or it's documentation. But, we all know that doesn't happen because politics and the social media always gets involved and costing out government huge amounts of money and resources to attend these "special people" who are just too stubborn to collaborate with common sense.  
 
Care home revisions? ...Can't say anything will change to any industry that's often profit based or managed by an underfunded government program. Seniors will always be thought of last, be vulnerable and easily ignored because they were, they are and they can. That's the hard truth and nothing will change in the long run if care homes facilities are ran as a business. And as always, once out of the eye of the public the neglect will return and it's business as usual.  
 
Store capacity restrictions actually do exist, but how does it get governed, regulated or enforced? We can't even get Walmart and the other "big box outlets" from cluttering up their main aisles with displays, extra shelving or all their crap sitting on pallets waiting to go on shelves. We've already seen that if they could stop "counting customers" they would, even with a public health order backed with fines.  

And finally, the review, evaluation and set future goals of our health care system... What of it? Will things change? Will we make improvements? The answer is ONLY IN THE SHORT RUN when it becomes a political platform. It's happened before and it goes in cycles. The system gets strained, people suffer and die as a result, money gets dumped into the problem, key folks benefit or gained wealth, government leadership changes, issues get neglected, warnings ignored, lessons of the past is forgotten, new threats/circumstances come about and the system is strained again.  
 
I wish I wasn't so negative, but I've been burned too many times by the ones that have always spoiled it for every one else. Doesn't matter if it's the regular joe on the street or a high ranking official responsible of a great number of us. I feel more often than enough, everyone is set to benefit themselves before anything else. ...Even if it conflicts with just common sense, common decency, morally expected or when they are actually paid the job they were educated to do. My prediction is that after the pandemic, people will want to forget and go back to the "old ways", simply because it benefits each of the individuals wants.  
 
...Until history will repeats itself and everyone wants the same thing again.  
 
Just my opinion, I could be wrong

Edited by admin, 2021-07-06 15:21:21. Reason: Required edit

It's great to be in a spot where we can start seeing these things as soon-to-be reality and not a longer-term hope. A few thoughts...  
 
For local jobs, wonder if work from home is going to stick more in larger cities with commutes compared the classic Brandon-Ten-Minutes-A-to-B. At the same time, for people with careers whose location doesnt matter I wonder if somewhere like Brandon's cost of living becomes appealing for a relocate. Make $75k per year, pay mortgage on $1.2M Toronto home forever. Make same $75k per year doing same job with same company remotely from Brandon, buy a home in cash for 1/4 the price, live mortgage free with much more disposable income?  
 
I do think one of the legacies of the pandemic will be habits that help us to stay a little further ahead of some of the more typical viruses that circulate. Not necessarily for everyone, but if even 1/3 of people carry forward some of what's been ingrained during the pandemic it could make a real difference. Wonder if we'll see the odd mask out and about depending on the circumstance (some international tourists have been doing it for years)  
 
Remote doc visits, more tech-inclined clinics and less time spent in waiting rooms- yes, please!  
 
We aren't out of the woods yet, but if/when we're declared to be there the plastic dividers IMO have to eventually go. Just too hard to communicate if they're eventually no longer necessary to prevent spread of a global pandemic... but for now they still are!  
 
Guessing some businesses will drift away from curbside pickup, but improved online shopping and ordering systems are here to stay (including grocery of course!). Pandemic has really accelerated some tech trends, one of those being services that make it so much easier for businesses to manage/share/sell their inventory online... which will increasingly be a matter of survival as the Amazon snowball keeps growing.  
 
Very interested to see what travel looks like, but yes absolutely should have proof of vax to come in internationally for quite some time. Reading the writing on the wall in other provinces, proof of vax domestically might not be as big of a thing as some might hope (eg. already BC Ferries isn’t asking for it in that province’s overall shift to masks optional/recommended).  
 
Overall the next major step/front is going to be reintegration of people with so many different tolerance levels, beliefs and different levels of readiness to get back to “normal.” Some will quickly trend back to “close talking,” others will still be keeping six feet ingrained for quite some time whether by choice or habit. Some will be quick to return to busy indoor settings, others not. Some will wear masks for a long time yet, others can’t wait to get them off when told it’s safe. It’s going to take patience, tolerance and respect while this plays itself out over months or even years.  
 
In busier public settings it’s going to be a leap in that you won’t know vax or health status of the unmasked stranger next to you and that in theory you shouldn’t have to. It won’t always come easily after a year and a half of this but there will need to be an acceptance that when health officials deem us to have reached wide enough vaccination as a population to get back to something resembling normal that the risk is low enough to move on within whatever boundaries/recommendations are left in place.  
 
Where I see a big challenge is reintegration with some known to be in the denier crowd. If Alberta and BC are any guide, these folks will be getting most of their same “freedoms” back … reintegrating mask and vax free, many carrying on oblivious to the fact that they’re getting those freedoms back because the rest of us are vaccinated in large enough numbers to make it possible without the medical system being inundated. This for me will be the possibly the most challenging part and is something I can see putting some friendships and relationships to the test. Like above it’s going to take a level of trust that vaccination has done what it needs to do, but there will be some people (and even businesses) that it’ll be hard to look at the same way again in knowing where they stood when the chips were down and where they’ll probably fall if there’s another pandemic. Some will hopefully in time come to realize how they’ve been taken advantage of by disinformation during such a difficult time, but I can see it leading to some tough friendship/relationship choices for some folks and just hope there’s a path toward it not leading to as much division as it’s capable of.  
 
Overall I’m excited to see what the world looks like on the other side of this. I’m excited to be able to look at so many of the things taken for granted in a new way and excited to experience so many of the things this planet offers for the first time all over again. You really won’t know from month to month, year to year if a variant is on the horizon and it’s going to be the best excuse you could ever ask for to live life how many would say it’s meant to be lived… enjoying what we have, when we have it in what little time we get!