The email from Orkin, “the largest pest control company in Canada,” was the second in as many weeks.
“Uptake [sic] in rat sightings due to COVID-19,” read the subject line. I think the writer meant “uptick,” but I digress. Apparently, rats are running wild in the streets of the city.
The email offered up “an Orkin pest control spokesperson to talk acnedontialy [sic] about what is being seen as well as remind homeowners about proper mitigation tactics to avoid rats and mice who may have become bolder.” First the pandemic, now a return to The Food Of The Gods. We’ve officially entered the Apocalypse.
According to National Geographic, rats are coming out of hiding and ravaging huge swaths of the U.S. where the lockdown has made their usual food supplies scarce. The Canadian Press is also reporting that the pandemic has been a boon for wildlife.
I haven’t noticed it in my neighbourhood. The chirping of birds has been conspicuously absent this spring. But there is one raccoon that has been appearing on my backyard fence at pretty much the same time every day. Raccoons are supposed to be nocturnal, but this one comes out in broad daylight. Fewer humans mean more space for our furry friends to mess around.
A lot has changed since coronavirus came to town. One day melts into another as we look for signs of normalcy. It’s been six weeks. And according to pollster Angus Reid, the majority of Canadians are “girding themselves” for another eight weeks of self-isolation – if not longer.
In fact, one-in-three people surveyed in Ontario say they expect some semblance of the current stay-at-home order to remain in place for at least another three months, and possibly as long as six months. Interestingly, 43 per cent of those surveyed say they would wait until two weeks after there are no new cases of the virus to venture out again. They could be waiting a lot longer than that.
While Canadians are doing what they can to stay active during the lockdown – more than half in the Angus Reid survey say they are exercising at home – getting outside has been more difficult with new and harsher restrictions on travel and the shutdown of parks. Four-in-five people surveyed by Angus Reid say they have been limiting their trips to stores for essential errands only.
On that front, public health officials – and politicians – have been sending conflicting signals. First, we were encouraged to go for walks. Now we’re all being told to stay indoors as much as possible. In Toronto, parks and playgrounds have been shut down, including High Park.
In BC, however, Stanley Park has been open throughout the pandemic and the province’s medical officer of health has encouraged residents to get outdoors for exercise daily while practicing physical distancing.
I went for a bike ride last Sunday. Can I even do that? I’m still not sure. But there I was bombing down the hill that runs through the ravine near my place. No hands. Freedom. Only this time the gates to the city-run golf course at the bottom of the ravine were chained and two city bylaw enforcement officers stood guard just in case anyone got any bright ideas.
The show of force was a startling contrast from only two weeks earlier when people and dogs were happily frolicking on the putting greens – and keeping their distance. But the enforcement of physical distancing measures has tightened considerably since then.
Up the steep hill and toward the main entrance of the park there’s a bronze obelisk that anchors a sprawling memorial to the victims of the Holocaust. I get off my bike to snap photos when two more bylaw enforcement officers appear seemingly out of nowhere in separate cars. One of them gets out and makes a beeline for me. WTF? He turns abruptly when he sees I’m moving on. But for a moment, my sense of security is shaken. It’s probably just my heightened perception of the vast empty space around me.
What’s next, immunity passports? The UK and Germany are considering it. A curfew?
Those discussions have begun in earnest in Canada. The PM mentioned at his press briefing this morning (Saturday, April 26) that the federal government and provincial premiers will be releasing a joint statement next week on principles that will guide how the economy is re-opened. He made clear those decisions will be based on “scientific evidence” and include “strict measures” while reiterating it will be important to “get this next phase right.”
There have been more questions lately about how we trace and track the virus as we begin to think about how we re-open the economy – and ensure folks don’t end up running roughshod over their post-lockdown (newfound?) freedoms. There are apps for that.
Will Canadians, for example, be required to turn over credit card information and open up access to their mobile phones so authorities can trace cases and identify hotspots? It’s what South Korea, a country we are being encouraged to take our cues from, did very early on – and continues to do – to put a lid on the spread of the virus.
We’ve heard increasingly over recent weeks about the importance of collecting data in real-time in combatting the virus. And how without that – and the means to track people – it will be impossible to manage an exit strategy. A cultural change and change in our collective mindset about personal information – and freedoms – will be needed for that to work.
So while wildlife has reportedly been having a heyday thanks to coronavirus, for us humans, the pandemic is about to raise more complicated questions about not only government access to our personal information, but our freedom of movement as we adjust public health measures for the next phase of the COVID-19 response.
@nowtoronto
