ROTHENBURGER – Bending the curve, looking forward to the altered normal
Dr. Bonnie Henry during news conference Friday.
WE ARE BENDING THE CURVE, Dr. Bonnie Henry told us on Friday.
I’m not sure about the subtle difference between that and flattening or planking, but Henry did also use the word “flattening” at one point. Whatever, it beats raising the curve.
While continuing to emphasize the need to continue doing what we’ve been doing, she said it could mean easing up on some restrictions as soon as a few weeks from now. It’s enough to get you thinking about life after COVID-19. Or, at least, co-existing with the virus until we invent a vaccine.
The imagination runs wild. Think of it — getting a haircut. Rebooking an appointment with the dentist or optometrist (you known, the one that was cancelled). Going for coffee with a friend. Hugging a loved one. Going to the movies or a concert.
Mel Rothenburger is a former mayor of Kamloops and newspaper editor. He writes five commentaries a week for CFJC Today, publishes the ArmchairMayor.ca opinion website, and is a director on the Thompson-Nicola Regional District board. He can be reached at mrothenburger@armchairmayor.ca.
A lot of cities in Canada and the U.S. are in fact already spread out and the decentralised model you predict has been more the norm in the last century (at least in North America). The European model in which people live close together and also close to where they work and play, is still a better model in the long run, pandemics or not. One reason is that people don’t have to travel huge distances to anything and one can rely more on public transportation, something which we’ll need to combat climate change.
Pandemics are nothing new. One of the problems now though is that we are more of a global society than centuries ago, and this poses a whole new problem with containing the spread of diseases. The problem we’re facing is far from over. What is the endgame here? As long as the virus exists anywhere, it can spread from a few people to a million in a short period of time.
So how can one reliably open up society again without this happening? Without a vaccine, I don’t think anyone has a good answer to this.
As part of the plan to reopen our communities and the economy there are things that can be done now to mitigate new infections.
Designers and engineers can rethink ventilation systems in any structure that holds congregations of people. This includes arenas, concert halls, buses, airplanes,airports etc. Currently air exchange designs are balanced between the need for fresh air and the energy efficiency of the system. The balance will have to move towards public health at the cost of efficiency. The air filters currently used will no longer be considered adequate. Airlines may consider installing ultra violet air sterilizers in the ventilation systems.
Construction material choices will have to be mindful of their potential to support microbial growth.. As an example, there are door handles made with a silver alloy coating that do not support microbes. They are currently only used in hospital settings because of the extra cost.
The paradigm shift we are going thru will guide our thinking to many changes we can do to make our world safer.