When the country begins to reopen, it will be a gradual, tentative and potentially frustrating process, experts say.
The discussion about how to begin reopening Canadian society is ramping up, even as the country has yet to pass the peak of the pandemic that has shut it down.
In provinces with relatively low COVID-19 rates, governments have started to publicly express optimism about lifting restrictions – Saskatchewan Premier Scott Moe has said he hopes to release a plan for doing so in the coming week. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and other federal officials, meanwhile, have emphasized Canadians will need to maintain current physical distancing measures for at least several more weeks, even as they’re increasingly being pressed to communicate a plan and timeline for the resumption of some normal activities.
But based on interviews this week with a wide range of sources – including senior political officials in Ottawa and provincial capitals, and infectious-disease and economic experts both here and abroad – Canadians should be braced for a potentially frustrating and anxiety-inducing second phase of the coronavirus response….
The unwinding of current measures is likely to be gradual, tentative, and occur in fits and starts. And while the earliest stage of fighting the pandemic has featured a high degree of political, regional, intradisciplinary and public consensus about the need for strict lockdown measures, the next one could prove to be more fractious, as governments are confronted with a wider slate of options on how to proceed – not just when to begin reopening the economy, but what sectors and activities to prioritize as the process begins…
Read the full piece in Canada’s The Globe and Mail here: https://www.theglobeandmail.com/canada/article-what-will-canadas-pandexit-strategy-look-like-how-officials-are/
