Image Credit: The Canadian Press

By James Peters

Two & Out

PETERS: Restrictions imposed by government have left our world in a terrible place — but the alternative is much worse

May 1, 2020 | 1:23 PM

FRIDAY’S ANNOUNCEMENT of a ban on the trade of military-style weaponry presented an interesting dichotomy with some of the images coming out of the United States.

A protest against government-imposed COVID-19 restrictions featured a number of men carrying such assault weapons – for a purpose that is not entirely clear. Because freedom, I guess?

Peaceful protests against restrictions would be understandable – even warranted – if not for one fact.

Asymptomatic people can transmit COVID-19 – and it is incredibly virulent.

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That fact is at the heart of the extreme restrictions imposed on everyone by governments around the world at the advice of health experts.

If it was only sick people passing on the virus – restrictions could have been much less restrictive.

You feel sick? Stay home. The rest of us can carry on life as normal.

But that’s just not the way this virus works.

People can pass it along without having any idea that they are.

I feel perfectly healthy, but I have no idea if I am carrying the virus, and neither do you.

And because of how deadly COVID-19 is, especially to seniors and those with compromised respiratory or immune systems, our health experts have decided blanket restrictions on movement will be more effective than selective ones.

It sucks. That much, we can all agree on.

The restrictions we are now subject to are detrimental, in other ways, to our physical health and hugely detrimental to our mental health – let alone our economic and financial well-being.

But consider the alternative.

As of Friday morning, more than 237,000 people have died from this virus – even with massive, unprecedented efforts to limit its spread.

Nations who were even just a little late in their responses have been devastated.

The alternate world, in which we all took the virus much less seriously, is far worse than the one we have ended up with, which is still pretty bad.

The health professionals guiding us here in B.C. and in Canada have done an exemplary job, and when it comes to loosening restrictions, we should continue trusting them to guide us to the best possible outcomes.

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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.