Prince Edward Islanders were delivered a devastating reminder Sunday afternoon of the disruptive power and the fear associated with the ongoing pandemic.
As new reports of positive cases of COVID-19 continued to flood into public health offices, the province's chief public health officer, Dr. Heather Morrison, joined P.E.I. Premier Dennis King at yet another unscheduled COVID-19 briefing to bring Islanders the bad news. New, stricter restrictions across the province for at least three days – if we are lucky.
The news came after two clusters of cases emerged, first here in Summerside and then Charlottetown. The latest instances came without an originating source being identified in either city; which translates into the dreaded "community spread" Dr. Morrison has been warning us about for months.
More than 190 people had been named as close contacts of the confirmed cases by the end of the weekend and more are expected throughout the week. Morrison said she is concerned. We all should be.
Sunday's clampdown by political and health officials came just 24 hours after Morrison announced on Saturday that new circuit breaker measures would start for two weeks.
We are now at alert level Red. That means, among other things, for at least 72 hours from midnight Sunday, possibly longer if the situation does not improve, there are to be no personal gatherings, schools are cancelled, non-essential businesses ought to remain closed and Islanders should stay home as much as possible.
Said Premier King: “If you are sick, if you have symptoms, do not go to work, go get tested. We don’t need work heroes. We need you to be careful, to do your part for our community and our province.”
We had been lucky on P.E.I. for a long time during this pandemic but it seems our luck has finally run out. Just as it has done in New Brunswick and Newfoundland and Labrador, COVID has given us proof of just how fast it can hit and how much havoc its presence can wreak upon our health, economy and everyday functions of life.
It's time everyone, including anyone who had not been following previous social distancing and mask-wearing advice, starts to and continues to do so now and after we get this latest COVID-19 setback under control.
We need to do it for each other before we start counting COVID-related deaths with our daily infection numbers like so many other provinces do.
If we all do our part, perhaps our modified "red" position will not have to be extended for much longer.
It's time for all Islanders to accept the medicine being prescribed by our province's top doctor.
