By Jessica Berget, Editor-in-Chief
As of yesterday, Douglas College will be moving all courses online—effective immediately in order to limit the spread of COVID-19 or the coronavirus. This is a scary time for some people as the presence of an evolving disease cancelling all events, closing shops and stores, and social distancing can be extremely anxiety-inducing.
However, as per our feature this week, we want to remind our readers that it’s important to remember not to get swept up into the fear mongering from the media or the panic of your friends and neighbours or it will get worse. It sounds difficult now with news updating every hour about a new case being found, another death as a result, or another school being closed, but there is no reason for alarm. Now is a good time to remind people that in Canada there have been only 441 total cases of the virus. Eleven people have since recovered, and only four deaths have been reported; there is no reason to panic or to think you will die from it.
Though it is scary hearing about everything becoming closed or shut down and the government telling everyone to stay socially isolated, these are all necessary safety precautions. This is to ensure the health and safety of people who may be more susceptible to the disease or could become critically ill from it—such as older or immunocompromised folks. It’s also to make sure hospitals don’t get overloaded with patients thinking they have it, or people getting infected with it because it wasn’t contained enough.
In times like these the most important thing to do is not to panic, because no rational or logical decision has been made in a panic. All of the cases we talk about in our feature this week have put people into alarm mode and it did not bode well for anyone. Sometimes it ended in innocent people getting sent to jail, or people falling extremely ill with no physical evidence showing what’s wrong with them because it occurred simply as a result of the human brain under extreme stress.
At times like these all people are looking for is stability, and you can count on us for that. Classes will no longer be happening on campus, but Other Press is still going to be alive and kicking on our website theotherpress.ca (you can also visit our issuu at issuu.com/otherpresspublications) where you can find our weekly updates. In the meantime, stay safe out there, and wash your hands!
