Brave New World

The two biathlon cadets of 3045 Army Cadet Corps returned from the National Biathlon Competition in Valcartier, Quebec, on March 9.  They had a lot of fun despite not winning any medals.  Their parents & I were relieved that nothing bad happened while they were travelling.  Contrary to popular belief, travelling to southern Canada for many Nunavummiut, especially youth, carries the risks of experiencing culture shock and loss of direction.  Everything is larger, louder, and more chaotic.  It’s why northern corps stress that if cadets have to travel down south alone, there should be officers meeting & directing them at the airports.  We were glad this happened and the level of supervision was good.

            

March is still a cold month in Arctic Bay.  It’s like February but with more sunlight.  I always find the ice buildup on furnace chimneys visually impressive.  They start off small but grow and grow into tall ice sculptures.  The ice is chipped off but some households choose to wait for the warm weather of late April & May to melt the ice away.  I hope the people inside aren’t suffering.

            

The construction site at the community’s new fire hall has sat quietly since the start of winter.  Construction will not resume until the summer.  The exterior appears complete and only the interior needs work.  Sea cans, wooden crates, and generators sit around the fire hall.

            

In Grade 10 English, we began reading the novel Never Cry Wolf by Farley Mowat.  The books were purchased over the Christmas break.  I had grown tired of using two other novels and wanted to expand my choices.  I chose this novel because it’s written by a famous late Canadian author and the story’s setting is Northern Canada.

           

My Grade 11 Social Studies students & I studied the First World War and Canada’s involvement in the world conflict.  It’s the one topic I always teach in the course because I find it fascinating.  By the middle of the month, we were learning about the weapons used, the devastating effects of shell shock & trench foot, and examining four major battles of the war, one of them being the Battle of Vimy Ridge.

            

My Grade 10 Guitar students spent the first half of the month learning simple songs, eighth notes, basic chords, strumming patterns, and playing as a group.  I began researching the songs they submitted for the class fake book.    

            

And then everything changed.

            

It appears my prediction about the Coronavirus was wrong.  Very wrong.  Looks like it’s going to stay here for a lot longer than I thought.  The rate of infection and spread of the virus has sent the entire world into a panic.  Things escalated quickly over the course of a few days.  The World Health Organization (WHO) released a lengthy statement on February 11, giving the virus a new name: COVID-19.  I should have mentioned this in my previous post but forgot.  You can click here and read why they chose that name. 

            

The escalation began when Italy imposed a nation-wide quarantine on March 9.  Just under 9,000 cases were reported but that was enough to warrant the lockdown.  Restrictions limited ravel and many non-essential services were closed.  The restrictions weren’t as strict as the ones imposed in China.  Still, many other countries wondered if they would have to follow suit?  The answer came very quickly.

            

The WHO declared COVID-19 a pandemic on March 11.  Major outbreaks were reported in South Korea, Iran, and France.  On March 12, the Canadian province of Ontario announced the closure of all schools for 2 weeks after March Break.  The closure is to stop the spread of the virus.  The virus had reached Canadian soil by this point but with only a few confirmed cases.  Other provinces followed with their own school closures.

Observing these closures from Arctic Bay made everyone wonder if the Government of Nunavut would do the same?  I found that difficult to believe because my school rarely closes.  We only close, at most, a few times each year.  The decision was made on March 16 during lunchtime.

I was in the staff room eating my lunch and talking to several teachers when the principal walked in and announced the closure of all Nunavut schools & public facilities for 3 weeks.  One teacher found a CBC News North article reporting on the announcement.  I was truly surprised.  This is the first time something like this has happened in the 7 years living & teaching in the community.  Bilingual letters were being quickly written for students and announcements were being prepared for Facebook & local radio.  The closure was to begin on March 17, the next day.

High school midterm exams were set to begin the following week when the closure was announced.  Much time was spent putting the exams together and creating a three-day schedule.  The announcement forced the cancellation of midterms.  I’m certain other high schools in the territory were forced to do the same.

Students were surprised by the announcement.  I found a timeline video on YouTube that showed how COVID-19 spread across the world up until early March.  I showed the video to the high school students before they were dismissed.  I pointed to the number of people recovering from the disease, emphasizing it as a positive sign.  That appeared to calm some of their worries.  I ended the spontaneous presentation with the phrase, “See you all in 3 weeks.”

I postponed cadets for the duration of the closure because the school was off limits.  That and I received orders from the military brass that all cadet activities are postponed until April.   The community hall & arena are also closed to the public.  For the next three weeks, everyone is instructed to stay at home, only go out when necessary, and stay 6 feet apart from everyone.  Handshakes are discouraged; instead, people are encouraged to bump elbows!  Well, at least it’s not headbutts. 

It’s now the third day of the closure and things are still escalating.  Cases in the United States are increasing at an alarming rate.  People are panic buying and hoarding supplies.  Stores down south are reporting many empty shelves that were stocked with toilet paper, hand wipes, face masks, hand sanitizers, painkillers, and food.  There are also reports of people selling these items at inflated prices on the internet and in parking lots.  I’m glad to see sites like Amazon & EBay stopping people from using their platforms to make a quick buck from the pandemic.  It’s like we’re all living a real disaster movie.

I’m doing alright up here in the far north.  I have enough toilet paper to last me a long time.  The people of Arctic Bay are calm and remaining hopeful that the disease will not reach them.  One benefit of living in a remote community.  At the present time, there are no confirmed cases of COVID-19 in the community and in Nunavut.  I’ve been keeping myself busy by exercising, watching movies, reading, and playing piano.

          

With no school & cadets happening, I’m predicting fewer events to cover on this blog but I’ll keep writing.  This pandemic is big news and I can only imagine what will happen when the virus arrives in the territory.  The airline & tourism industries are going to suffer a lot financially because not many people will be travelling for the foreseeable future. 

            

Based on everything that has happened, two things are certain: 2020 is turning out to be a bad year for everyone and we’ve all entered a brave new world.

Here's a great YouTube video by Kurzgesagt - In A Nutshell explaining the Coronavirus & what you can do to protect yourself: "The Coronavirus Explained & What You Should Do".