It seems like just yesterday that the Great Lockdown of 2020 ended.
Now, not even four months after businesses across the country began to re-open, we may be heading for a second lockdown. And the vast majority of Canadians support it.
According to a recent Ipsos survey, 75 per cent of respondents would approve of quickly shutting down non-essential businesses during a second wave of the coronavirus pandemic.
That second wave, by the way, is all but here. Yesterday, October 5, there were more cases than the second-highest case count, which occurred on May 3. It is important to note that there are significantly fewer deaths this time around – for now.
In the coming weeks we’ll likely find out whether a second lockdown is necessary. Public health officials are continuing to urge citizens to take counter-measures, such as wearing masks and social distancing, though a drastic increase in infections appears inevitable.
“It’s everyone’s hope that we’ll be better prepared to deal with the second wave because we’ve learned so much from the first wave,” said global health law professor and pandemic specialist Steven Hoffman recently in an interview with the CBC.
“But this virus remains as dangerous as it was before, and I’m actually even more worried for the second wave.”
It is now up to provincial governments to apply the lessons from earlier this year. Most Canadians are confident. Nationally, 71 per cent said they’re confident their province is ready to adequately manage a second wave.
See more insights from the poll here.