Classrooms are re-opening -- one reader says, ‘What are they thinking’ –while another says, ‘There’s no justification whatsoever in shutting kids out of school’

For regular readers, you may have seen my post from Monday ... “As schools prepare to re-open at least one parent is saying, ‘Kids are not the most hygienic group of people. Keeping on top of this will be exhausting, and very difficult for the staff at the schools’

On June 1^st, BC public schools will open to a variety of options in part-time education for the lower grades.  For at least a few parents, that has given them cause for -- if not alarm -- at least concern. Concerns about the possible spread of the COVID-19 virus to their children, of it being passed on by these little one, and additionally, a disruption for what will be in actual fact only days spent in classroom education.

A sample of comments, from readers, included these:

... schools were filthy before COVID-19. Custodial services have been cut back for years. Now schools are expected to pay for the new protocols out of the existing, inadequate operating fund.

... dumb move. What are they thinking?

... I personally think this is insane. Kids who are not sick, *cannot* attend if a parent or family member has tested positive and is actively sick ( makes sense)....but they *can* attend even if a family member is sick and showing signs of COVID (but haven’t been tested)...so long as the child isn’t sick? Asymptomatic infection is common in children.  What's the difference, so long as a family member is actively sick with symptoms, tested or untested?

Legitimate concerns?  Right?  And they make sense, at least to me.

However, for those in what I HOPE is little more than a vocal minority, the whole coronavirus situation has been a government conspiracy get more control over our lives ... it’s been a way to have socialism take root amongst all segments of the population ... it’s part of a big-pharma plot to have all of us vaccinated (that of course with poisons, which have been well researched by those with medical degrees from YouTube, and the world-wide-web in general).

And so, I also had comments like these:

... Y’all go hide under your sheets until it passes- while we get on with life! Get a grip!

... enough of the imbecilic bs- Flatten the curve narrative! Have you all been paying attention? There was no freakin curve in BC! Isolate the immunocompromised elderly and fearful and get on with living! I can’t believe you’re even babbling about this - should have let it run rampant - it has already been introduced to the most vulnerable in the care homes and you’re still freakin our about it?! Why don’t you just handcuff yourselves and stick your rears in the air for the globalist bastards to come and rape you? Can’t you see this is what you are asking for?!

Good grief ... I thought my commentary and post was about kids going back to school!  Apparently not.  And, of course, there was more ....

... this virus carried something deadly with it from its first appearance ... misinformation. Emotionally stung out people have done nothing to dispel the panic since it started.

... the virus has a 99% survival rate. There’s no justification whatsoever in shutting kids out of school. This is a farce.

I know this won't make any difference to what these people believe, however, it is my opinion that we weren't hit as hard as many other countries ... or even Quebec and Ontario for that matter ... because of the safety protocols which were put in place by the provinces Chief Medical Officer, Bonnie Henry – someone with impeccable MEDICAL credentials.

Those who are now using the low rates of infection and deaths, as a rationale that the measures taken by government were draconian, are saying ...

"Look, so few people ill, so few in hospital, so few deaths"

Come on people ... look at the big picture ... look past the conspiracy theories and libertarian drivel.

The bottom line is we have been impacted, by deaths and infections, to a far lower degree than elsewhere, because of the actions which were taken and put in place.

BUT those are the very things many don’t seem don’t seem to understand, or won’t and refuse to.

As of yesterday (May 19^th) British Columbia (population 5.1 million people), had counted 2,446 confirmed cases of COVID-19, and sadly 146 deaths.

Meantime south of us in Washington state (population 7.6 million), where measures to fight the coronavirus were no where near as strong, they had seen 18,811 official cases – and 1,031 deaths.

Despite a population have again as large as ours, SEVEN times as many people in Washington State have died from the coronavirus... and over seven and a half times as many people have been confirmed to have it.

Still, and even with this indisputable information, I was told that:

... the response has been over the top and dictatorial. The citizens are not the property of the state and most are wiser than the nut-jobs that think one-size-fits-all solutions, enforced by law are the answer ... the fundamental human right is the right to take the actions necessary to support one's life and that has been arbitrarily violated, again unnecessarily. Asking to have people to solve their own problems after ensuring that proper information was available to them is the respectful way to deal with people.

And further ...

... the experts have proven to be either disingenuous or ill-informed as their stated goal, the protection of the vulnerable has been an abysmal failure. Care homes and hospitals have been hit hardest.

NO, I’m sorry, but the experts HAVE NOT been disingenuous and ill-informed.  If they had been, we would have seen the same numbers of deaths as those we’ve seen happening south of us in Washington State.

From the start there has been loud and vocal opposition to measures taken to protect the young and old – and everyone in between (as you may have noted, from the image above, the greatest group of people who have contracted the disease, are between the ages of 30 and 59).  For whatever reason, they fail to understand that we are doing well because of the very things they are so pissed off about.

We’ve begun Phase Two, and things are starting to re-open, and will continue to do so as long as we remain vigilant in not being reckless.

Let’s listen to Dr. Bonnie ... let’s stay, and be, safe!