Image Credit: Flickr / Government of BC

By James Peters

Two & Out

PETERS: With restrictions beginning to ease, let’s not forget our seniors in long-term care

Mar 12, 2021 | 12:10 PM

PROVINCIAL HEALTH OFFICER DR. BONNIE HENRY made a lot of people very, very happy this week when she eased restrictions on gathering to allow outdoor meetings of up to 10 people.

The people she made happy are the ones already diligently following her rules and regulations.

Some may be trepidatious about the high case counts B.C. is still seeing every day, but Dr. Henry seems very confident about the safety presented by outdoor settings.

She has repeatedly told us that the virus is primarily spreading inside households and in workplaces where it is impossible to keep distanced.

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If we don’t trust Dr. Henry’s guidance, it’s probably time we ask ourselves if we trust anyone anymore.

COVID-19 will be remembered not only as the virus that killed millions and left millions more with long-term health effects, it will be the virus that destroyed our ability to trust each other.

Oh, and for the ones who have been playing fast and loose — or ignoring the rules all together — it doesn’t really matter what regulations are in place. They will continue to play by their own set.

Respectfully, though, with hope so close on the horizon, there is another suggestion Dr. Henry should consider.

Now that our long-term care residents have been offered COVID-19 vaccines, and those vaccines have been proven to reduce the chances of serious illness and death to basically zero, it’s time for life to change for those residents.

It’s time to open up visitation for those who have received vaccine doses.

Visitation means something different to seniors than it does to you and me.

It can mean the difference between hope and hopelessness; the difference between a life with meaning and days spent running out the clock.

This isn’t to say visitation should immediately return to pre-pandemic levels. It can expand slowly and carefully, with the same layers of protection Dr. Henry requires of all of us in public settings.

We should not, however, wait much longer to offer a lifeline to our seniors by way of that smile, those shared laughs and that in-person connection that simply cannot be replicated over the phone or the screen.

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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.