Murray Mandryk: Covid still requires a smart, consistent approach

According to an Angus Reid Institute survey early this month, Saskatchewan people are among the worst “cynical spreaders” when it comes to COVID-19.

It wasn’t a very nice way for the polling company to put it nor was it accurate. But it may serve as a good reminder of why we still need understanding and patience five months into this pandemic.

The online survey run by the Angus Reid Institute between Aug. 5 and Aug. 8 probed 1,500 Canadians on their habits and attitudes towards the pandemic. It then placed people in three categories: the “infection fighters”, the “inconsistent” and the “cynical spreaders”.

About 30 per cent Saskatchewan responders were deemed cynical spreaders, confessing to expanding their social circles, not practising the recommended six-foot physical distancing rules and maybe not washing hands and wearing mask as much as they should.

On average, only 18 per cent of all Canadians fell into the “cynical spreader” category.
Conversely, 47 per cent of overall Canadians were deem by the poll as“infecton fighters” but only 32 per cent of Saskatchewan people were designated as such. Another 38 per cent of Saskatchewan people were deemed as inconsistent.

Of interest is how these trends somewhat mirror voting patterns. Conservative votes were about four times more likely to ignore COVID-19 protocols than Liberals or New Democrats.

There are a lot more Liberals and New Democrats in a place like Ontario, where 55 per cent of those surveyed claimed that they adhere to rules. There again, it needs to be noted that Ontario hasn’t done as well as Saskatchewan in preventing the COVID-19 virus - either in total cases or deaths or on a per capita basis.

Perhaps it’s here where we need a little more perspective … a whole lot more patience and understanding in this on-going battle.

Rather than unfairly label Prairie people as “spreaders”, perhaps it would better if Angus Reid surveyors took into account the logical notion that people are less precautionary if COVID-19 is not prevalent in their area.

Consider specific regions in Saskatchewan like the southeast (the Estevan/Weyburn area) where there has only been 11 cases in total and zero active cases right now or the Central East (Yorkton/Melville) where there have been only 33 cases and there is only four active cases. Even Regina has only had a total 131 cases and only 25 active cases.

It might be helpful if people were given credit for making common sense decisions rather than chastised for not adhering to standards that aren’t critical to their circumstances.

There’s something to be learned by those in this province who have quick to criticize those in rural areas for supposedly not following the rules.

But after more than five months of this pandemic hopefully teaching us a little bit more about the need for patience, we should realize that need for understanding flow sboth way.

Certainly, the outbreak in Hutterite communities - an estimated 390 of Saskatchewan’s 528 cases in the past month - has demonstrated that COVID-19 can and does happen anywhere. (There have been 207 cases in the Swift Current/southwest corner of the province) that now has 46 active cases.)

So while it’s good to have decisions made locally, this pandemic shows we also need to have consistent provincewide policies to combat outbreaks whenever and wherever they do happen.

This especially applies to school re-openings.

For example, Premier Scott Moe is right that a local school district like Chinook in the southwest that range from small Hutterite colony schools to large classrooms in Swift Current need to apply the right solutions for them. But shouldn’t that mean consistent provincial guidelines for all large schools and classrooms in the province?

Five months into this pandemic, we need to be patient, logical and smart.