Politics vs personal responsibility

Welcome to the social media scroll of my mind

Apr 2

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.

Travis 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.

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.

arti @artipatel

ONT WAITING FOR MORE UPDATES Staring Episode 2 GIF by The Office

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

Elizabeth Renzetti @lizrenzetti

I have no idea what lockdown means anymore.

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). 1 2

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.

André 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 #RiskCommunication

In 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

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

Laura 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

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.

Jennifer 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?

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.

sané 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?

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

amil @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

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.

Michael 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.

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?

Hannah 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?

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.

garvia 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.

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.

Healthcare 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

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.

Leyley @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:

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 ✨✨✨

Politics vs personal responsibility

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