The Second Wave of COVID-19 is Here

It’s not a huge surprise. We all knew it was coming. School has started back up and here we are. I live in Canada, so the numbers aren’t as staggering here as they are in the US, but it’s still not great.

The summer

Over the summer COVID numbers continually went down. We had a few days of under 100 cases in our province and things were looking up. I was able to go out and eat on a few patios with friends, go to the mall here and there, and actually enjoy my summer while it lasted.

I know I should have stayed home more, but when I did go out, I was always careful and wore a mask. Restaurants would take down the contact information of the people dining there just in case, so I felt pretty safe wherever I went.

Near the end of summer is when the whole province was anxious about what would happen when the school year began.

The school year

Ultimately it was decided that schools would in fact reopen. A dumb idea, to me at least. It seems painfully obvious with the opening of schools means the number of cases would go up. And here we are.

Parents had the choice of sending their children back to school (with every grade required to wear masks all day) or to continue online learning. It’s turned out to be about half and half for each option.

Numbers have continued to increase, and we’re back at over 500 cases a day in the province. The city of Toronto, and the surrounding area, being hit the hardest. A few schools have even shut down due to the number of cases found in them.

My worries

So obviously I don’t feel entirely safe going anywhere again. If I have to, I will, but for the majority of this fall and winter (and who knows how long this wave will last), I’ll be indoors and at home.

I’m worried about catching COVID-19 and spreading it to my family. I’m worried about my friends that live elsewhere and can’t come home for the holidays in December because of this virus. Of course, it’s always better to be safe than sorry, but it just sucks that this entire year has been ruined, and next year isn’t looking much better.

Do your part

Please, if you’re reading this, do your part and stay home as much as possible. If you need to go out, wear a mask, wash your hands, and sanitize as often as you can. Luckily my city and the surrounding cities have made wearing masks mandatory indoors in public spaces. It puts me at ease a little, but I still naturally worry.

We need to all work together to fight this deadly virus. I know the rules have been beaten into the ground, but just because we’re tired of this virus doesn’t mean it’s gone away. It’s come back with a vengeance and we need to protect ourselves and others from it.