Some people can’t believe it’s already been five years since lockdown, whereas others can’t believe it’s only been five years. Wherever you fall on that spectrum, there’s one thought I’m sure most of us have had at some point: what the hell was that?
In March 2020, the lethal and highly contagious COVID-19 virus sent us all into hibernation. That month, B.C. reported almost 1,000 cases since its first occurrence in the province on Jan. 27, 2020. By the end of the year, those numbers would jump to over 50,000 cases and 901 deaths in B.C. alone. Everyone was advised to stay home as much as possible: classes moved to Zoom and many people were either laid off or worked remotely from home.
My privilege lets me look back at this time through rose-coloured glasses. Both gas prices and emergency room wait-times went down and traffic was virtually non-existent. More importantly, people actually had time for their hobbies. As for me, when I wasn’t off on a quest for groceries, I was either playing The Sims 4 (2014) or enjoying the sunshine with a good book.
Still, the pandemic was undoubtedly a disaster. Nurses at the front lines were overworked, many businesses were forced to shut down, and substance use increased due to a nation-wide decline in mental health. And of course, there’s the long-term health effects (or long COVID) of those who had the virus, not to mention the countless lives lost.
Other than the hospital, I’d say one of the most stressful places to be was the grocery store. As the only non-immunocompromised person in my house, I enlisted in the war for toilet paper — a battle waged by hoarders. Shelves were emptied by panic-buyers, and the smell of Lysol in the aisles brought me hope that surfaces were being cleaned vigorously. I practiced social distancing and stayed behind plexiglass barriers separating consumers and cashiers, all while being hyperaware of every cough and sneeze from nearby strangers. If I haven’t already convinced you of how seriously I took the pandemic, here’s one more precaution I followed: as soon as I got home, I threw all my clothes in the laundry and hopped in the shower.
Finally, in December 2020, the first shipment of vaccines for COVID-19 arrived in B.C. Imagine my relief. Throughout the following year, Pfizer and Moderna became household names as the most commonly used vaccines for the virus. By late 2024, these vaccines, along with Novavax, would be the only ones approved for use by Health Canada.
As soon as they were available to me, I powered through my fear of needles and booked an appointment. When I got to the Ag-Rec Centre, it looked like something out of a dystopian movie. Everyone wore face masks and we quietly followed arrows taped to the floor telling us where to line up, where to wait, and where to exit. I’d never seen anything so efficiently organized in my life.
Still, vaccines can only do so much. In July 2022, the virus finally caught up with me. For two weeks, I stayed in my room, only leaving to use the bathroom. As someone who was usually healthy until that point, the experience was unlike any I’d had before. I was instantly bombarded with cold sweats, fever, coughs, sneezes, and fatigue. My days were spent either sleeping or binge-watching the first three seasons of The Boys (2019-).
This spring marks five years since the pandemic took the world by storm. According to B.C.’s most recent guidelines, we no longer need to show proof of vaccination before entering public establishments, and mask mandates have only just been reintroduced to places like hospitals and assisted living facilities. The mandate requiring those infected to self-isolate was also dissolved by Dr. Bonnie Henry, B.C.’s provincial health officer, in November 2022. Still, while the virus is clearly on the back-burner, it’s definitely not gone. So far, Canada has reported 1,750 cases of COVID-19 and 904 deaths since August 2024.
Remnants of the pandemic can still be found: businesses that never took down their social distancing signs, people like me who still wear face masks, and rapid tests for when you think it’s just a cold, but what if? More than that, there’s a lingering fear of history repeating itself. From monkey pox to bird flu, there’s been no shortage of diseases that have had people worried about another pandemic, but I say we leave it to the experts to tell us when we should worry. In the meantime, wash your hands, cough into your elbow, and stay home if you’re sick. As for me, if we ever go into lockdown again, I’m buying a bidet.
