The Inescapable Reality of Pandemic Fatigue

It's mid-November in Manitoba. After skyrocketing cases and hospital beds and ICU units filling up, the provincial government decided they had to do something. Sadly, that means lockdown. Again.

About the only places physically open are grocery stores and pharmacies. Many local businesses and restaurants are offering curb-side pick-up and delivery in hopes of surviving this wave of the Covid-19 pandemic. But, other than that, it's pretty quiet on the streets of Winnipeg right now. A drive home at 10pm on Friday night felt like a tour of an apocalyptic ghost town. The usually hopping bar across the street was silent. It was eerie. Beautiful on the one hand, scary and unpleasant on the other.

Sigh. This sucks.

Manitoba had gone relatively unscathed in this pandemic. We were one of the best in the country when it came to having Covid-19 under control. But, something went very wrong. And now, we are at the bottom in the country in terms of cases. Darn it! How did this happen?

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Oh, there are plenty of fingers being pointed at the moment. It's everyone else's fault according to every one else. It's the government! The anti-maskers! Those who don't wash their hands 40 times an hour! People who breathe! Everyone is to blame!

Sigh.

This pandemic has people tense and on edge, and it can be felt everywhere you go. It's been like that for a while now. But it's going to get worse. Now that winter is setting it, it's dark here in Winnipeg quite early. The snow is starting to come down and the temperatures are plummeting. And now, there is the grand lockdown. It's already a difficult time for so many who suffer from seasonal depression. It's not like anyone needs more on their plate right now.

At this point, the pandemic has been going on for about eight months. And it's been eight months of bombardment on TV, radio and in newspapers blasting us with often WAY too much information about Covid-19. There really is no escape from what is going on. Everywhere a person goes, they are reminded of it. With warning signs posted on every establishment, instructions on washing hands and masking up, arrows on floors in stores pointing the direction for customers, favorite local businesses being closed, people staying away from each other; Covid-19 has become such a dominating force in all of our lives. No one knows how much longer it will continue to dog us all. And there isn't a single person out there who, at some level, isn't sick of (if not with) Covid.

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Yup, pandemic fatigue is setting in seemingly everywhere. We are social animals (as Aristotle has pointed out) who just want to get back to normal, dammit! And we want to do it, for better or worse. Ya, there were aspects of pre-pandemic life that weren't always the healthiest, like commuting to work or long hours to be jammed into cubicles. But, there was also so much good! Nights out at restaurants, cafes or bars! Going to movies! The theatre! Concerts! There was a time when you could just at the spur of the moment decide that you wanted to go out to get something to eat at a dine in restaurant and not have to worry about distancing, masks or even washing your darn hands (okay, forget that last one)! Remember those good ol' days? They seem so far off now, both looking back in the past...and forward into the future.

And, to say the least, it's depressing. Yes, it's fair to say that pandemic fatigue has set in with so many of us. This is not the life we want to be living. And the fact that there really is no end in sight makes it seem that much darker, that much more frustrating. As the holiday season gets closer, all the enjoyment of family and friend get-togethers might have to be postponed. We have been assured that there will be more cases...and more death. We most likely will see local businesses have to shut down permanently. For many, jobs and income security are in jeopardy. And, sadly, so is our collective sanity.