At The End Of The Day

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Politics vs personal responsibility
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Politics vs personal responsibility

Welcome to the social media scroll of my mind

Hannah Sung
Apr 2, 2021
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Welcome to At the End Of the Day. I’m Hannah Sung and I write this newsletter for a people-first perspective on the news.

Ok, I’ll be honest, I spent all my allotted newsletter-writing time glued to the news, just scrolling like I was playing a slot machine of emotions.

So in today’s newsletter, I’m stringing together a series of tweets. It’s about what I have the capacity to do but also reflective of how I’ve spent the last 48 hours.

I know we’ve been in pandemic mode for a year but this third wave feels different. That initial burst of problem-solving adrenaline is long gone. Seasonal changes are hammering home how long we’ve been in this. And anxiety always ramps up in a time of transition.

In Toronto, we’re deep in the third wave, my family is back in the “will we or won’t we” phase of sending our kids to school, and I’ve spent a lot of time frozen, reading a constant stream of updates.

Twitter avatar for @TravisdhanrajTravis Dhanraj @Travisdhanraj
So here's where we are at: The gov'ts two top docs agree if schools stay open we will see more #COVID19 infection and the Minister of Education saying schools are safe and should stay open. Then...you wonder why families heads are spinning. #Onpoli #onted

Stephen Lecce @Sflecce

Schools will remain open — critical for students’ mental health & learning. The Chief Medical Officer of Health has said schools remain safe. Against third wave & VOCs, strong protocols have kept 98.7% of schools open and 74% without any cases. Students deserve to be in class.

April 1st 2021

749 Retweets2,169 Likes

I try to counterbalance high-stress headlines with a few small pleasures.

In a sunny moment, I went for a walk during which I called three (!) separate friends out of the blue. It was a gorgeous hour well-spent.

Overall, though, I’ve got the same deep exhaustion many of us are feeling right now. 

Twitter avatar for @artipatelarti @artipatel
ONT WAITING FOR MORE UPDATES
Staring Episode 2 GIF by The Office

April 1st 2021

5 Retweets84 Likes

Ontario Premier Doug Ford’s announcement of new measures this week was confusing.

Twitter avatar for @lizrenzettiElizabeth Renzetti @lizrenzetti
I have no idea what lockdown means anymore.

April 1st 2021

309 Retweets2,968 Likes

As journalist Elizabeth Renzetti put it, “I have no idea what lockdown means anymore.”

Overall, current measures defy logic. Despite the bluster, in Ontario, weddings, funerals and religious services are allowed at up to 15% capacity (never mind that these are literally the superspreader events we’ve known about from the start of this pandemic). 12

The Ford government is calling latest measures an “emergency brake.” But nothing, besides branding, has really changed.

For clarity, journalist Andre Picard, national treasure:

Applying an emergency brake means screeching to a halt, stopping dead in your tracks. At least it should. There may be a lot of screeching in Ontario, but there’s not much stopping. What the province is doing, at best, is coasting.

Twitter avatar for @picardonhealthAndré Picard @picardonhealth
In Doug Ford’s pandemic Ontario, words like “lockdown” and “emergency brake” have become meaningless, by @picardonhealth
theglobeandmail.com/canada/article… via @GlobeDebate #COVID19 #onpoli #RiskCommunicationIn Doug Ford’s Ontario, COVID-19 lockdowns have become meaninglessIf a lockdown is going to have a real impact on slowing the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic, it requires, for starters, a stay-at-home order and a curfewtheglobeandmail.com

April 1st 2021

292 Retweets768 Likes

I’ve also started to really hate the word “patios.”

Twitter avatar for @l_stoneLaura Stone @l_stone
Premier Ford is asked difference b/w shutdown & what is already in place for lockdowns. He said it's province-wide, and people are gathering too much. Said it breaks his heart to close patios. Need people's cooperation. "If we don't do it we'd be in deep deep trouble." #onpoli

April 1st 2021

9 Retweets30 Likes

Toronto Star reporter Jennifer Pagliaro on Twitter:

Ford, whose government sets rules for restaurants being open, referenced patios being "packed" as reason for virus spread (I don't have data to say whether patios have been major contributing factor). Again, they are responsible for patios being open.

Twitter avatar for @jpagsJennifer Pagliaro @jpags
They're also responsible for setting how many people can be on a patio under the re-opening rules. So if every table on a patio of a restaurant following those rules were full, is it the fault of the patrons, owners or government who set the rules?

April 1st 2021

32 Retweets182 Likes

Of course, the main problem isn’t patios. The main problem is the ongoing doublespeak and lack of leadership. Wouldn’t it be nice if the government didn’t blame the people they are meant to serve?

By opening a restaurant patio (again, just a small example), without protecting the workers in the cramped, indoor kitchen, the government is saying, “Go for it.” Risk the lives of others so you can have nachos and a margarita. It’s allowed!

Then as cases rise, as we all were warned by doctors and experts they would, the blame falls on people who were following rules and working to survive.

Twitter avatar for @hello_sanesané dube @hello_sane
Do 'young pple' feel invincible or are they essential workers in grocery stores, health care aides, etc. who haven't been prioritized for vaccines and work even when sick cause they don't have paid sick days? Maybe they also can't afford this city so live in crowded housing? IDK?

April 1st 2021

357 Retweets1,457 Likes

Yes, it’s crazy-making. But it’s also why I’m on Twitter. For the pithy summations.

Twitter avatar for @amilamil @amil
Over a year into this and instead of mandating paid sick days the govt is still trying to keep us squabbling over retail and patios. Ppl who never leave their house are snitching on everybody they see meanwhile not a peep about the essential workers who are actually at risk

April 1st 2021

125 Retweets765 Likes

I follow a small army of doctors on Twitter, who speak out and create content for the public, on top of doing their actual doctor-ing jobs. All this to push back on bad takes and policy from the government.

Twitter avatar for @drmwarnerMichael Warner @drmwarner
Despite what @fordnation says. My intubated 30-50 year old #COVID patients were not congregating by choice. They were working in essential jobs where they have the highest exposure risk and the least protection. Do not insult their sacrifice.

April 1st 2021

5,514 Retweets19,922 Likes

It shouldn’t feel like a full-time job to simply *understand* what’s going on. Constantly cobbling it together from many different sources.

One thing that’s clear is that it won’t help us to blindly follow the whims of openings and lockdowns according to a government that isn’t listening to reason.3

In frustration, I mused aloud on Twitter. I watched in horror as it was quickly retweeted over and over, embarrassed that my ignorance was being amplified. But if everyone is also wondering, maybe this question isn’t so dumb after all.

Why aren’t vaccines coming to workplaces?

Twitter avatar for @HannahSungHannah Sung @HannahSung
Maybe this is a dumb question but I remember flu shot clinics coming to my workplace. Why can't COVID vaccine clinics be in warehouses, food prep, factories for essential workers? Is there a reason why this isn't happening? Is it happening and I just don't know?

April 1st 2021

86 Retweets1,025 Likes

I got lots of replies, including people who reminded me of the specific storage temperatures for vaccines, while acknowledging that mobile vaccination isn’t impossible. Farm workers in California, people in the prison system, seniors in high-rises — these are all examples of people who have had vaccines brought to them.

Responses to my Tweet reminded me that beyond all the doctors and journalists I follow on Twitter, people of all stripes are so invested. Obviously. Regular people care. (Are people on Twitter “regular?” Jokes.)

Seriously, we all know who is disproportionately getting affected by COVID-19, in our cities and around the world, and it isn’t the folks who have the time and luxury and space to be scrolling social media all day, like me.

We *all* need to do what we can to beat this virus back.

Twitter avatar for @garveyschildgarvia bailey @garveyschild
Systemic racism- white supremacy --it's all at play with this virus. If people that looked like our leaders were getting sick we would see a different kind of response and vaccine rollout. #HCinCanada "Who is getting sick" Lower income+ racialized folks.

April 2nd 2021

63 Retweets262 Likes

We know how COVID-19 is connected to our societal fault lines. Which is why, I believe, people remain fired up even as we are depleted by the reality of our ongoing day-to-day.

Twitter avatar for @HCinCanadaHealthcare In Canada @HCinCanada
"90% of cases are coming from people living in 10% of the postal codes in Ontario.. This focus on neighbourhoods that are most impacted is really important." @AshTuite Wow. This statistic is powerful. #HCinCanada

April 2nd 2021

180 Retweets528 Likes

Look at those numbers from epidemiologist Ashleigh Tuite, above.

There are vast swathes of people for whom none of this is real except that their vacation got canceled.

And as we live through massive policy failures in Ontario, as journalists and doctors do their best to go above and beyond, fraying at the edges, we need personal stories to be reminded of the destructive toll of this virus.

Twitter avatar for @AshleyComrieLeyley @AshleyComrie
So, as a (relatively lol) young person who spent two months in hospital nearly dying of Covid and just had my 4th post-covid surgery last week, I’m about to rant about this new Ontario Emergency break” so bear with me through my very first Twitter thread:

April 1st 2021

1,374 Retweets5,106 Likes

If governments, like ours in Ontario, are going to play a blame game, downloading responsibility to individual people, first of all stay angry because that’s not good leadership.

But secondly, maybe we can up our own sense of personal responsibility. For those of us who are safe, isolated and not being taken down by COVID-19, with whatever power you have to help someone else stay distanced, use it.

Turning down an invite to socialize indoors, for example, sends a clear message.

I don’t want us to lose relationships in this pandemic but there really are other ways.

Like when I went for a walk and called my friends. One of them happened to be heading into a meeting so we only had three minutes but they were glorious.

Another friend had juicy gossip, which I loved. We laughed and I gesticulated wildly for all the squirrels in the park, I was just so excited for this rare, precious catch-up.

Who needs to have tea in person?

For those with the luxury of distance, we need to double-down on getting through this final stretch without putting ourselves and others at risk.

Because the decisions at the top don’t always make sense and it isn’t over yet.

Stay safe this holiday weekend.

Hannah

✨✨✨ At The End Of the Day is edited by the effervescent Ishani Nath ✨✨✨


Further Reading:

How companies are helping vaccination efforts in Ontario’s drive for the jab, Toronto Star. Love this story. Where you at, Amazon?

Is Criticizing Immigration Racist? This is a talk I’ll be moderating next Friday, April 9, with Pier 21 and the Canadian Race Relations Foundation and a stellar panel. Sign up!

1

How a South Korean church helped fuel the spread of the coronavirus, The Washington Post, March 2020

2

Outbreak linked to Cambridge wedding linked to 21 cases, CTV News

3

‘We are imploring you to act now’: 153 ICU doctors sign letter to province calling for urgent action to curb COVID-19 deaths, Toronto Star


Thanks to everyone who entered the Cheekbone Beauty giveaway last week and a big congrats to winners including Simone, Makeda, Fiona, Angela, Aliza, Kate, Jamie, Dilys. Enjoy!

If you didn’t win, you can still use ATEOD2021 for 10% off anything at Cheekbone Beauty until midnight tonight (Friday, April 2). More on why I love this company here.


Subscribe to The Conversation Piece, a podcast that challenges the way you see everything.

From André Picard to Dr. Jenn Gunter: fascinating speakers on the topics that matter most to Canadians. Wherever you listen to your favourite podcasts.


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Grace Naylor
Apr 2, 2021Liked by Hannah Sung

This is such an accurate reflection of how we are all feeling!

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