The Hongcouver | Coronavirus: ‘Calm and reassuring’ didn’t convince Vancouver’s Covidiots to stay home. Maybe it’s time for fear and forcefulness
- British Columbia’s health officer Dr Bonnie Henry has been a beacon of calm authority amid the Covid-19 outbreak – but some doctors want her to get tough
- Instead of passive-aggressive measures to deter gatherings, parks and beaches could simply be closed to encourage social distancing
Provincial health officer Dr Bonnie Henry has been the calm, reassuring and authoritative voice of the Covid-19 pandemic in British Columbia.
Her near-daily press conferences (with BC health minister Adrian Dix) have become essential viewing, and have earned her a Twitter fan club with more than 7,000 followers, and supporters who literally sing her praises online.
“Dear Dr Bonnie” (based on “Dear Theodosia” from Broadway’s Hamilton) includes lyrics such as “you will lead us through self-isolation, we’ll work from home for you, order in our groceries too”.
But not all of her actions and inactions have been universally praised, with the most notable discord in the choir coming from Royal Columbian Hospital in New Westminster.
Because despite Henry’s repeated urging that British Columbians should stay at home and socially isolate themselves to slow down the coronavirus outbreak, the behaviour of a minority of Vancouverites, in particular, became a national embarrassment, as they gathered on Kitsilano Beach to watch the sunset, picnicked and played basketball and soccer in public parks.
The scenes last week alarmed Dr Gerald Da Roza, head of medicine at Royal Columbian.
