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EDITORIAL: Looking towards the other side of a pandemic

Hopefully we can salvage something – most – of our previous lives
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People are getting antsy.

The delicate balance between maintaining patience to prevent the spread of COVID-19 versus the urgency and anxiousness most are feeling about wanting to reopen the economy is reaching its peak.

People who’ve been complying with stay-at-home orders – many are not – are growing restless about how long this could go on. The time since this all started in our part of the world in mid-March until now already seems like an eternity.

We’re seeing many not following regulations in the United States, which has more cases than anywhere else in the world. Just what happens there might very well dictate the extent of devastation from the deadly virus. Protests have been springing up across the U.S. about keeping businesses closed and the economic devastation wreaked in such a short period of time. Many want to salvage what they can take their chances with the impacts of COVID-19.

• READ MORE: Visit our dedicated COVID-19 page for all our coverage of the global pandemic

At the same time, counter protests have emerged with people urging others to stay the course and not go back to normal lest the consequences be severe.

In Canada, there’s generally been a calmer approach, but protests are also starting to emerge. No one’s happy the economy is in a shambles because of this, but Canadians seem more accepting of short-term pain for long-term gain than our American friends.

COVID-19 is still a completely unfamiliar animal, and we don’t know what the long-term effects will be. Will it suddenly fizzle out or continue to infect countless people around the world via our lack of social distancing habits?

No matter what you believe about the virus, the toll it’s taking is unprecedented.

Trying to recover from all this is going to take incredible acts of courage from all levels of government right down to individuals and their families.

Hopefully, we can salvage something of our previous lives. It’s still not clear, though, what things are going to look like on the other side of the pandemic.

– Black Press Media