Like the willows beginning to bloom as a sign of spring, we are starting to see signs our lives may soon return to a semblance of normalcy.
COVID-19 vaccinations are continuing to roll out in Alberta, and each shot is a step towards the return to a regular routine. More than 2.5 million doses of the COVID-19 vaccine have been administered in Alberta and 49.2 per cent of the population has received at least their first dose.
Active cases in the province have steeply decreased to just over 12,000 and it appears hospitalizations and intensive care admissions are also on the decline.
Students returned to school on Tuesday (May 25).
Alberta Premier Jason Kenney announced Wednesday (May 26) there is a plan in the province to ease health measures and safely reopen the province.
These steps are encouraging, and we can be cautiously optimistic seeing public health measures slowly eased.
Like the spring break up it feels like our lives in lockdown are beginning to unthaw.
The question we now face is what we want the future of our province and town to look like.
COVID-19 has been a global health crisis on a scale that we as a town, province and country have never faced before. Every person has been affected by the virus in one way or another, and we have grown used to living with a sense of anxiety, driven by what has become chronic uncertainty.
COVID-19 has been both global and individual in its effects and reach, and one of the silver linings that can be drawn from the experience is how communities have rallied to offer support to those in need.
That spirit of caring will be essential as our town, province and country reopen.
We are at a crossroads and after more than a year on the roller-coaster ride that has been the COVID-19 pandemic. We may soon be able to refocus our energies toward repairing the social fabric of our community and healing our troubled economy.
It will take hard work and community connections to ensure we can generate positive mental and physical health in Cochrane and Alberta as we recover from the global health crisis.
Just as we have rallied as a community to change our behaviours to reduce the spread of COVID-19 and protect the vulnerable, so now must we rally to support everyone affected by the devastating social and economic damage the virus has left in its wake.
Since the start of COVID-19 Alberta's Chief Medical Officer of Health Dr. Deena Hinshaw has shared a mantra to help us navigate these challenging times. It is a philosophy that can help guide how we treat ourselves, friends, family and neighbours as we recover from the wounds left by living for more than a year in crisis.
“We need to face this together and respond to this extraordinary crisis with extraordinary kindness."
