We are going to get one shot to get this right
By Niagara Dailies Editorial
Tue., June 16, 2020timer3 min. read
updateArticle was updated Jul. 08, 2020
It feels like years since we have been able to enjoy a meal on a restaurant patio or get our hair styled. Or step inside a library. Step inside a mall.
How starved are we for a fuller social life?
Many of us are actually looking forward to our next dentist appointment, that's how starved we are.
So when Niagara moves to Stage 2 reopening on Friday, let's not blow it.
It hasn't been years, after all, only three months since COVID-19 forced the shutdown of much of our economy and of our lifestyles.
The keys to staying at Stage 2, and hopefully moving sometime soon to a Stage 3 full reopening, are simple but vital: maintain social distancing, wash your hands frequently, try to wear a mask in public, avoid sick people and cover your coughs and sneezes.
It's that easy, and it's what got us out of Stage 1.
Understandably, some people are nervous. The virus is still out there.
We've been through traumatic times. We've lost loved ones, we've lost jobs, freedoms, family time.
Grief counsellors say people generally are mourning the loss of their routines. There's not a person around whose life hasn't been changed in some way by the COVID-19 lockdown.
Of course, there is some nervousness about reopening; it's like walking into a cold pool. Every step feels a little worse, but you know you'll be all right so you keep going.
We need to do this right, not just for our own well-being but for our businesses.
Niagara has a strong manufacturing sector, but it is the service sector that defines us.
We are known for our restaurants, wineries and tourist attractions. We're famous for our summer festivals, too, but they've all been cancelled — meaning we need thriving restaurants, wineries and attractions now more than ever.
Stage 2 reopening, as of Friday, is an important step. People need to get back to work.
And numbers don't lie. The most recent monthly employment survey by Statistics Canada shows Niagara had a 13 per cent unemployment rate in May; it was only 6.2 per cent in May 2019.
In the service sector — everything from restaurants to hotels, hair salons, coffee shops and tourist traps — there were 19,000 fewer people working this May compared to May 2019.
It was especially bad for youths aged 15 to 25: their unemployment rate in Niagara last month was a staggering 32 per cent, compared to only 12 per cent last May.
This is the time of year they would normally be lining up summer work to pay for schooling, among other things.
Every number represents someone's life.
Every one of them is someone who has lost their employment — maybe permanently — and that hits not just them but their family, the stores they frequent, the gas they buy and the rent or property tax they pay.
Clearly, reopening is vital for Niagara. We were just barely hanging on.
So let's do it right. And not only because no one wants to go back into Stage 1 lockdown.
Experts tell us every pandemic that has ever been, has been followed by a second wave.
We probably can't avoid it, but we can control it. Be strict about maintaining a distance between others when you're out.
Wear that mask. Wash those hands. Do that, and we can mitigate the second wave so it doesn't disable us while we wait for a COVID-19 vaccine to be ready. Don't leave it for others to do — step up for your community.
One only has to look to the U.S. where more than 20 states' caseloads are still growing, in many cases because they reopened too soon, to see what could happen if we mishandle this thing.
- What's re-opened in Niagara amid COVID-19 shutdown?
- Niagara entering Stage 2 of reopenings Friday
- Without physical distancing, masks, Stage 2 could end quickly
- Niagara Falls tourism officials encourage patience during reopening process
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