I look forward to the first week of April every year.
As a sports and entertainment fan, this week brings something for everyone: award shows, baseball season, the Final Four, the Masters, and my personal favourite – WrestleMania.
It’s also a time where the weather gets a little nicer, the grass a little greener, and the daylight hours a little longer.
In Ontario, it also means we are a few weeks into having very few COVID-19 restrictions.
Regardless of where you sit on the political spectrum, it’s safe to say that most of the population is at the point where they don’t want to wear a mask any longer when they go to watch their kid’s hockey or ball game, or when they go to a restaurant.
With that said, it is any surprise that we are now in another wave of COVID cases across Ontario?
No.
Dr. Kieran Moore, Ontario’s chief medical officer of health, said this would happen when he announced the lifting of the mask mandate in March.
And keep in mind that the data shared by the province – 2,248 new COVID cases were announced on Monday – should be taken with a grain of salt. Moore has said the true daily number is likely 10 times higher than what is reported due to limited PCR testing.
The most reliable numbers from the province are hospitalizations and intensive care unit figures, which sat at 857 and 168 as of Monday, respectively.
That’s manageable.
With this knowledge, why are we surprised that COVID is still a thing?
We shouldn’t be.
Since the lifting of the mask mandate, I have been to a number of events where large crowds of people have gathered, and very few of those people wore a mask or respected social distancing.
As spectators at a hockey tournament or wrestling event do, they cheer, boo, yell and have a great time.
I was one of those people in the past few weeks.
Over the past two weeks, various members of my household have tested positive for COVID since enjoying those events.
Thankfully, none of the cases in our house were severe. However, nobody likes feeling under the weather.
While frustrating, I’ve come to terms with the fact that in order to enjoy a pre-COVID experience, there is a risk to do so.
We’ve been wearing masks, using hand sanitizer and washing our hands non-stop for the past two years – our immune systems will likely have some work to do to get back to full strength.
If you go to a large gathering, such as a hockey tournament, and do so without taking any of the public health measures such as wearing a mask or social distancing, the chances are pretty good you’ll get something, whether it be COVID or a common cold.
Consider it the cost of doing business.
Whether we like it or not, COVID will be a word that is in our vocabulary going forward, much the same way the flu or the common cold is. It will be around in some form or fashion – hopefully weaker and less viral – and it will be something we have to learn to live with.
How you do is your choice.
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Mike Wilson is the editor of Midwestern Newspapers. Comments and feedback are welcome at mwilson@midwesternnewspapers.com.
