THE PACE OF THE COVID-19 story’s scope and evolution has been unprecedented in the news business.
Everything changes, every day.
And so, it is a little less surprising that the reception to provincial health officer Dr. Bonnie Henry’s daily messaging has also changed.
The problem is the messages are becoming mixed.
Every day, Dr. Henry leads off with a series of numbers.
Those numbers talk about how many new positive tests have been recorded in various jurisdictions, how many new COVID-19-related deaths there have been and how many people are considered recovered.
The first number – new positives – is the one that gets the headlines because it’s the biggest – but it’s also the least relevant.
To begin, because of the length of time it takes to get test results back, that number only represents the picture from days prior.
In today’s terms, a few days is an entirely different generation of information.
Not only that, the test is not being given to everyone suspected of having the illness.
We have received several reports of people who are symptomatic and who have wanted to be tested, but who have been told simply to stay home.
So those people won’t be captured in the totals, either.
Health officials have erred on the side of providing less information than more – refusing to single out where cases are showing up unless there is a particularly urgent public safety concern.
They say they want you to assume it is everywhere.
We can now confirm that with the community reports we have received.
Providing numbers at all, then, is not particularly helpful.
What they’re really saying is they don’t trust you.
They don’t trust you to listen to their recommendations and orders if you think the virus has yet to make it to your community.
Maybe they’re right and maybe they aren’t, but what has become clear is that most of Dr. Henry’s numbers don’t matter anymore.
The virus is here and it’s everywhere. Batten down the hatches.
——
Editor’s Note: This opinion piece reflects the views of its author, and does not necessarily represent the views of CFJC Today or the Jim Pattison Broadcast Group.
