The Difference A Year Makes Then: January 26, 2020 and Now: January 26, 2021

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By Jo-Ann “Jo D NL” Duke

I was just watching CTV News, the 11:30 news program in Canada, and they said that on January 26 last year that there were 2000 people infected with Covid-19 and today, January 26, it was announced that as of 3:00 pm this afternoon, there are now 100,000,000 cases of the virus.

Now, for me, this date every year is hard, because not only would I be celebrating my father’s birthday if he was alive, it is also the anniversary of my second oldest brother’s passing.

Yes, imagine that, he died on Dad’s birthday. I couldn’t forget the date even if I wanted to, because you know once in a while, it would be nice to be able to just let it slip by.
So what once was only a bad day for my family and friends is now a day that is unfortunately a horrible milestone for everyone, not just a few people; now everyone has to remember the day that the world was witness to this happening.

This horrible number of cases was hit today, and the number is still climbing; yes, there are vaccines out there, but there is not enough vaccine that has been produced to be able to vaccinate enough people in this world to create an immunity against this deadly virus.

People are talking about getting enough vaccines for individual countries, which is fantastic, but realistically until we can get enough vaccines for the majority of people in the world, we are still going to be fighting this virus, and all the mutated variants that are coming from the original virus.

We have to keep doing whatever health measures we are given by our governments, for however long we have to do it until we are sure that we have gained immunity over Covid-19.

I know that we all have become frustrated with all the restrictions, and wish that we didn’t have to deal with them but look at it this way; aren’t these restrictions worth it to save not only our own lives, but those of the people we love, and even those we don’t even know.

It might sound like I am being a Pollyanna, even naive, but it’s not, we have to get past the idea or belief that the measures don’t work, however,they do. I can’t say where I live that we have been perfect, but if we follow the medical advice about physically distancing, masking up, and being diligent about washing hands, it can work.

If you don’t believe me, look at the total number of cases that my province has dealt with since the virus was first diagnosed here; I am taking the numbers off the Pandemic Update page off the Province of Newfoundland and Labrador and posting them here.

To show that these numbers are real, and that I have not made them up just for the article, I am including the link, so you can check the official page and see for yourself, it is listed right here: https://covid-19-newfoundland-and-labrador-gnl.hub.arcgis.com/.

Last Update 2021-01-26
New Cases 0
Last new case: 2021-01-22
Total # of Cases 398
Total Recovered 388
Total Deaths 4
Active Cases 3
Currently Hospitalized 1
People Tested 78,477

(Excludes 3 active cases not in public health follow up within the province)

Honestly, I am not doing this to brag, just to make the point that it can be slowed down, and if everyone is willing to try, and do what is needed to keep themselves, their loved ones, and even strangers safe.

Yes, I will admit that it is hard to get into Newfoundland right now, that you have to have an exemption from our Health Department that will allow you to travel to the province; and since every case in our second wave has been from people who have been travelling back from either another province in Canada or somewhere else in the world, people have been comfortable with the restrictions that have been placed on us here; as well as a few people who were flying through the province to get home.

We have over 500,000 people living here, and these are the numbers that we have, since we have been following the restrictions that some people in the US don’t believe are necessary, perhaps these numbers can change some people’s minds, hopefully.

I just want to see the same numbers for other parts of Canada as well as the US, because this is our reality until the virus is either gone, or it has been controlled by the vaccine enough that it is safe to try and live in a Covid free world. I am just praying that this time next year, that this date is not another milestone for cases of Covid-19.

Well, signing off from here in Newfoundland, and wishing all my love to my American friends peace and love.

Jo D NL

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