Island Senior: COVID Fatigue, The Third Wave and The Holidays

Posted November 7, 2020 at 5:30 am by

With Apologies to Norman Rockwell – Graphic Peggy Sue McRae

Island Senior is a regular column on the San Juan Update written by Peggy Sue McRae.

How are we doing? Eight months into this pandemic and we are all tired of it; tired of staying home, tired of wearing masks, tired of washing our hands all the time. It is easy to get lulled into feeling pretty safe here on our pretty safe little island.

I’m sorry to say but this is not the time to let our guard down where coronavirus is concerned. We have stayed pretty safe here because we have been following the rules; wearing our masks, maintaining social distance, and washing our hands. Now is not the time to let up on these simple life-saving practices.

Case numbers are spiking across this country and in Europe as we head into the third wave of this pandemic. Germany just closed restaurants, bars, gyms, and theatres again. France is reimposing a national lockdown. In light of surging coronavirus cases in the US, Canada is keeping its border closed to American visitors for at least another month.

One of the most dangerous things we can do at this point is welcome our friends and family members from off-island to an intergenerational indoor gathering where we sit around a crowded table to eat, talk, and laugh. Yes, I’m talking about a classic American Thanksgiving or as it might be called this year, a coronavirus super spreader event.

This year consider reigning in your Thanksgiving by keeping it small, sharing it with your local pod people, the people you feel safest with. Keep your group small enough to seat those in it with a maximum amount of space between them. Cut down on kitchen congregating by preparing as much food ahead of time as possible. Send cards, Zoom or Skype with loved ones you are missing and hope that by next year we have weathered this storm.

Stay strong my friends and count your blessings. We have much to be thankful for on our beautiful… and pretty safe… little island. Wear your mask, keep your distance, wash your hands, and in the spirit of Thanksgiving, drink a toast to your health!

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One comment...

  1. In Western Australia, (Perth), they closed their borders several months ago. Nobody in, nobody out …including flights etc. Huge fines levied if caught breaking rules.
    My daughter says they are almost Covid free. I believe they now have only 5 cases in total?
    Children have been back to school for months, no masks. It’s a system that works if we drop the self indulging and self entitled attitude.

    Comment by Heather on November 7, 2020 at 7:08 pm

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