Debate: B.C. Is Slowly Reopening at the Right Time

It’s good that residents can get haircuts and dine in restaurants if they stick to health protocols

Read the other side of this debate here.

(Kristen Frier)

The province of British Columbia revealed its restart plan for the province last month. The restart plan contains four phases, and the province is currently in the second phase, which includes the opening of salons, barbershops, restaurants, and retailers. These businesses can open as long as they enforce the provincial health and safety protocols and social distancing practices.

I think it’s great that the province is taking steps towards reopening the economy. Although it’s important to avoid instigating a second wave of COVID-19 cases, businesses and services like salons and barbershops usually book short visits, limiting the amount of time a barber has to spend with a client. Compared to bars, night clubs, and movie theatres, there are fewer people spending less time together in places like these.

Since most salons and barber shops also require customers to wear masks, there is a layer of protection between them and their clients while they get their job done. This form of service is one that can work in phase two, as it practices safe guidelines while contributing to the economy.

Certain medical services have also been given the green light to start providing services. A list by Macleans shows that dentistry, physiotherapy, registered massage therapy, chiropractic medecine, physical therapy, speech therapy, and rescheduling for certain elective surgeries can begin.

This list of medical services reopening is an important one. Many of them may not seem crucial, but they’re still services people have been waiting for during quarantine. In some cases, they can be essential to an individual’s health and wellbeing.

It’s also great that the province didn’t add any cosmetic procedures to the list for phase two. This will help us to slow the spread of the virus.

Certain restaurants are now allowing customers to dine in, as long as they follow health procedures and keep people distanced from each other.

Even without restaurants open, I think we were doing well by opting for takeout and delivery.  This is not to say it should continue forever, but dine-in service is not mandatory and should be restarted in phase three as opposed to phase two.

Apart from dining in at restaurants, B.C. seems to be moving at a reasonable and steady pace when it comes to reopening the province during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Gradually reopening can work as long as we don’t forget the rules and gather with large groups of friends. It took us a while to be able to eat at a restaurant, go to a salon, or make an appointment at a barber shop, and we don’t want to lose those privileges because of a second wave.

The goal is to move forward. While it’s evident that things won’t go back to normal until a vaccine is created, we still need to be smart and follow the safety guidelines. Even when an effective vaccine is created, we will need to adhere to the guidelines and be safe. We don’t want our hard work to be for nothing.