Time to take another look at COVID restrictions
Last week, as I was having my morning coffee at home, I was brewing inside over the COVID restrictions and the state of our nation.
It has been over two years since the restrictions went into place and have been coming and going ever since. They have taken their toll with me in spirit and in mind.
As a musician and organizer this has been both restrictive and destructive. I have been able to do very little planning and am being constantly shut down. I would plan to go to a music jam in the community only to have it cancelled. The past month they have all been closed down again. I planned Christmas “carol” events to raise community spirits over the past two years using local musicians. The first was in the open air at the Save-on-Foods parking lot in Ladysmith. Despite following all the COVID rules we were still shut down within 20 minutes while playing ‘Away in a Manger’. I remember thinking, this is absolute craziness. This year I carefully planned a similar event in conjunction with one of the local churches where small gatherings were allowed. Anxiety about COVID restrictions put the damper on that creative concert.
These are illustrations of how blanket government restrictions have been destroying events, even those carefully planned with COVID safety in place.
That morning, I said to myself: “I’m done”, better put, “I’m done in.”
I think there are many others feeling like me. COVID restrictions are having a compounding negative effects on me(us) resulting in depression and frustration. It is time for these restrictions to be reviewed and withdrawn. I say this, not just for the good of my health but for the health of all the people in our province.
Ken Oakes
Ladysmith