Some days feel deceptively normal. My oldest friend in Ottawa calls and we discuss her upcoming move to Montreal on my way to the supermarket. I make a mental note to buy bananas, carrots, sugar and eggs. Kids are playing in the street and I step aside to avoid fresh chalk drawings on the sidewalk. When I come home, Mark is super excited because he saw the new Scooby-Doo movie trailer. Trees are finally greening up, the neighbours are washing their car, someone parked a boat in the driveway a few houses down—suburbia and spring at its best in Ottawa.
But on a closer look, nothing is normal.
My Ottawa friend moving to Montreal? We’re chatting over the phone because she actually doesn’t live in Ottawa but in Gatineau, Quebec, just across the bridge, and there are interprovincial travel restrictions with checkpoints between our two provinces. And she’s laughing about her much-awaited move to Montreal because the city is a “hot zone,” which in 2020 speak means “COVID-19 outbreak area”—she can’t go visit the apartment she’s about to rent, she has no idea whether her kids will be able to start school in September and she doesn’t know a thing about her new position, a lateral transfer in the federal government, because she had secured it right before the pandemic and it was originally a travel-related job.
My grocery shopping trip isn’t normal either. I have to queue outside and when I’m finally allowed in, the aisles are eerily empty. Shelves are empty too—we definitely have supply issues around here. No eggs, no sugar again. Fuck it, I’m going home. I’m not joining another queue outside another supermarket and waste another thirty minutes.
“I’ll try to download your Scooby-Doo movie, Mark, but I don’t think I can find it if it’s not out yet.”
“It’s okay, I’ll see it at the movie thea— … oh, right, still closed. I hate COVID.”
As for the neighbours, it’s the third time this week they are washing their car—I suspect they are really bored—and the boat owner isn’t going anywhere anytime soon. Oh, and the chalk drawing? It feels kind of weird that kids draw face masks and write “stay safe” messages for fun.
Day after day, even though nothing is normal, we try to recreate the illusion of normalcy because we have to, for practical reasons and to avoid going crazy.
But the so-called “new normal” is hard to navigate because there’s the reality—the pandemic—and realities, plural, depending on where we are, who we are, who is in charge and other factors.
I chat with Isa over the phone. She’s in Montreal and her daily life is very different than mine. Case in point, she takes calls on her tiny balcony while I wander around Ottawa—she is self-isolating because Montreal is a “hot zone” and her neighbourhood is crowded while Ottawa is comparatively safer and we have a lot of room.
I chat with my mom in France, epicentre of the pandemic just weeks ago. North American news reports may lead you to believe that there’s no one left alive in Europe, yet governments are cautiously optimistic and restrictions are being lifted.
We’re in limbo in Ontario. Phase 1 of the plan to reopen the province started last week. In theory, retail outlets with street entrances can welcome customers back inside but I don’t see that many stores open. Classes have been officially cancelled for the rest of the school year and there are no set dates for phases 2 and 3 of the reopening plan.
Meanwhile, official messaging is often mixed, confusing and occasionally perplexing. Again, there are realities, plural. Kids in Quebec—and in a bunch of countries—are back in school, Ontario can’t promise schools will reopen in September. Are kids most at risk (March messaging) or mutants barely affected by COVID-19 (current messaging in selected places)?
Some days, I check CBC or Le Monde and articles are about a potential second wave, numbers going up again, restrictions here to stay and people being stupid. And then the next day, messages change, it’s time to get back to work, embrace recovery mode—it’s under control, folks!
It looks like no one has a fucking clue.
Is COVID-19 very contagious and deadly? Yep. Do plenty of people have mild or no symptoms? Yeah, that too. Can you catch the virus at the supermarket? Probably. Are you at risk if you pass someone on the sidewalk? Maybe. Should we all ideally stay home and wait for a vaccine? You bet. Can we actually do that? For many of us, it’s probably not realistic anymore.
Our realities come down to probabilities and we’re left making decisions and taking risks based on what we feel is “real,” “right” and “acceptable.”
I mean, I stared at a bench for a minute this afternoon. I was wondering if it was okay to sit (needed to reply to an urgent email) both because of the virus and a potential fine for using street furniture.
We’re all trying to use caution, common sense and the freedoms we have left to navigate realities.
It’s exhausting.
Hi from my balcony!
I was just reading yesterday that Montréal has become the second covid hotspot in the world after NYC. It’s definitely not a good place right now! I hope your friends manage to have a smooth moove (well, as smooth as possible regarding the circumstances). A part of me is still negociating with reality and in deep denial. That can’t happen right now! Right here! I was suppose to finally experience vanlife! Ugh
I think my friend will be okay. She’s flexible and well aware of challenges, she knows Montreal very well and she isn’t new to Canada (or shitty circumstances).
I really hope it gets better soon for you guys. I can’t imagine the stress…
Thanks for sharing the current realities in Ottawa. It was quite similar here in North Texas during Stay at Home order in April. The order was lifted on May 1, Phase 1 limited reopening started on May 8, followed by Phase 2 expanded reopening on May 18. Our county coronavirus tracker still indicates the risk as substantial until today even though the curve has flatten and positive rate is hovering at 5-7%. School is closed for remaining school year (ends this week) with online classes since mid March. We hope that school will open in mid August for next school year.
Having said that, as you mentioned, you would expect people to use caution and common sense to navigate the new realities as restrictions are gradually easing up. Unfortunately not. It is astonishing as well as disappointing when people who are seemingly highly educated and family oriented completely ignore social distancing advice after Stay at home order was lifted in May. I have seen droves of people crowding the beaches in California and Florida, but that is on my TV screen. You would never expect people around you to do that. So imagine how shocked I was when the volleyball team parents wanted to throw a backyard pool party to celebrate together, all siblings/parents welcomed. This is after they were upset that all tournaments in May/June are cancelled due to Coronavirus concern. On social media, people are not afraid to post great times spent with multiple households at the lake, kids having sleepover at friend’s house etc. So it is quite a stark contrast between Ottawa and here.
I believe we have to move forward to new normal cautiously and reckless behaviors like this will only create a second wave and ruin it for everyone. I am not a proponent of holing up at home until vaccine is out. On the contrary, I would like organized sports to start with safety protocols in placed and compliance monitored closely. It may be inconvenient and less efficient but we have to mitigate risk. Most importantly I hope school can reopen for next school year. My daughter has been quite disciplined with online school but engagement level will drop if it extends into the next school year. As it is, teachers are making the baseline lower to ensure majority of students can keep up, so quality/standard of education has dropped in recent term.
Hello Texas! Thank you so much for sharing your reality. I must admit I’ve been focusing on European an Canadian media and I’m not up to date with the situation south of the border, although of course I’ve heard about NY state, etc. It seems to be difficult to paint an accurate picture of the situation in the US because the number of cases and the level of response is so different from a state to another. It doesn’t help that apparently, some people (officials included) act very, very stupid.
I’m a bit wary of footage or pictures showing large groups of people because in photo at least I know it’s easy to make it look like there’s a crowd while in reality people are far apart.
I feel Canadians have been complying with restrictions and using common sense. It does help that it was fairly cold until recently and we have a lot of room to move around (except in cities like Montreal… where surprise, surprise, major outbreak). I don’t see people being completely reckless, but rules are bended on a daily basis–not out of stupidity but because you have to draw the line somewhere. For instance, even though it’s against current restrictions, I don’t see the big deal about sitting on a bench and I’ve met friends but we stayed two meters apart.
Stay strong!
Here, almost everything has reopened (schools, shops, even restaurants) and I must admit that the feeling of imminent dread is slowly starting to fade…
Switzerland only has around 10-20 news cases each day (for a population of 8’000’000), so the risk of being contaminated is quite low. Plus, they hired people to track down all the contacts of infected people, so they can have a test and in quarantine if needed. I hope this will work !
I’m getting super frustrated this week, true lockdown fatigue. I understand the need to make sure the virus is under control, but I’M SO SICK OF DOING NOTHING!
Yes! This! So very well said – no one seems to have any answers and with everyone just muddling through, trying to do what they themselves thing is right after reading wildly different things, I’m seeing all kinds of mixed behaviour out there. It’s just such a confusing time – I wish there were more guidelines in place but for now, like everyone else, we’re just guessing at what the best thing to do is. SIGH.
I’m kind of annoyed with Ontario right now. I think the messaging is super confusing (other than “be safe!” and “don’t give up!”). I’m totally lost with what’s okay or not to do and how we move forward.
Mon humeur a tendance à dépendre du temps qu’il fait dehors ces temps ci 🙂 Tempête doit reprendre la garderie dans quinze jours et j’attends ça impatiemment. Je déteste surtout cet immobilisme auquel nous sommes forcés…
I think the weather is worse in Montreal than in Ottawa. We had a couple of cooler days but no big deal… but it sounded like Isa was freezing when we were chatting over the phone today!
Je trouve que les journalistes en mettent un peu trop… la vie à Montréal n’est pas si inquiétante que cela. J’ai recommencé à travailler, avec des mesures sanitaires et de la distanciation. Je vais marcher tous les jours, sans me sentir menacée par le méchant virus. Les gens autour de moi font attention, sauf peut-être les groupes d’ado en manque d’amitié. En général, c’est calme ici. La majorité des cas sont dans les foyers de personnes âgées, malheureusement… en espérant qu’ils trouvent vite une façon de faire pour ces centres, j’ai cru comprendre qu’en Ontario il y avait aussi des problèmes à ce niveau. C’est d’une tristesse!
I’m happy to hear your feedback, it’s more optimistic and maybe more realistic too. It’s really hard to tell what’s “real” and what’s not these days–not that I’m into conspiracy theories, but assessing risks and the situation is very tricky.