Ontario now has over 300 cases of Covid-19 that we know of. As of press time, there were 5485 results pending. Wrap your head around that. 5485 people, potentially infected people, are awaiting results. The backlog is unreal. For the past few days, journalists have been told that the government is “ramping up” the testing capacity to reach 3000-5000 daily, but this has yet to be seen. It is a major problem. How do we know these people are really self-isolating? Can we trust people to do the right thing?

I have heard time and again from friends who have been exposed to people returning from abroad, who were mandated to self-isolate but end up in stores purchasing goods or even dropping off their taxes to their accountant. Certain bars and gyms thought it was a good idea to stay open. So from what I gather, no, we can’t trust people to do the right thing. But you know what we can do? WE CAN SAY SOMETHING!

Canadians are known to be soft-spoken and polite. We all shut up and keep to ourselves, but NOW IS THE TIME TO BE VOCAL. OUR LIVES DEPEND ON IT.

You see a running group of more than 10 people still run together? SAY SOMETHING!

You see kids in streets from various families play hockey in your neigbourhood? SAY SOMETHING!

Your neighbour is not self-isolating and you know he’s just returned from Florida? SAY SOMETHING!

Because there is no law enforceable at the moment for those who do not comply with what are simply recommendations, we need to be vocal. We need to take matters into our own hands. We need to get out of our comfort zone and actually speak up if we see something that is not right. Now is not the time to be polite. Now is the time to be brutally honest. And yes, maybe you alone saying something won’t reach them, but if they hear it from many, maybe that it will cause them to think abd reflect on the consequences of their actions.

Excuse my bluntness, but shit is about to get real. I know, I’m not supposed to say that word. Journalists who do normally loose credibility, but drastic times require drastic measures. We need to flatten the curve. We need to do everything possible to make sure we ALL survive this. And we need to do it NOW. We need to wake up! We need to speak up! We need to stay put! We need to tell others to stay put!

• While the governments are busy trying to contain this…
• While nurses and doctors care for the sick…
• While logistics workers keep filling up our shelves…
• While scientists work to find a cure and a vaccine…

Do everything you can NOW, so that in 3 months from now, you don’t look back and wish you had done more.