We’re getting some encouraging signs from our leaders in Quebec that we are making progress in the war against COVID-19.

And it really is a war, “the fight of our lives,” as Premier François Legault has stated several times during his daily press conferences.

In today’s press conference, they started to look ahead at how Quebec society would be kickstarted again, possibly as early as mid-April. It would be a gradual rollout, of course. And it could lead to possible permanent changes in how we work, i.e. with people who can work from home continuing to do so because there are other benefits, of course: for the environment with fewer carbon emissions, less strain on the public transit networks and more.

Quebec has seen 22 deaths from COVID-19 so far, all people over 60. Quebec has been doing more testing than other provinces in Canada, hence the higher numbers of people found to have the disease. Yes, we will undoubtedly see more deaths from COVID-19 in this province, but I don’t think we’ll see the high numbers other cities are reporting around the world.

The key to winning the battle against COVID-19 is self-isolation and social distancing when one has to be in public. If everybody plays by those rules, we win sooner than later.

I think Quebecers, for the most part, have gotten the message. Hence, the note of optimism in the premier’s press conference today.

Governments can only do so much, and Monsieur Legault and company have done a lot, as has Canada’s prime minister, Justin Trudeau. Both of those politicians have my vote next time around, because they have shown true leadership in unprecedented times. I’d like to hug them both, but social distancing rules mean I’ll have to send them virtual hugs once this is all over.

But, ultimately, it’s on us as citizens to make this problem go away. As I have mentioned previously, our actions have myriad ripple effects. Remember that the coronavirus is believed to have been inadvertently unleashed on the world by one person in a marketplace in China.

In the fight against the coronavirus, there is no telling how many lives you might save by simply staying at home and only going out when absolutely necessary and, then, practicing social distancing and washing your hands virgorously with soap and water.

And consider the CEOs and other management folks of my company and many others who told their employees to work from home even before governments ordered many businesses to close their offices. How many people didn’t catch COVID-19 because those people made responsible decisions early on? For sure, they saved lives.

So, that’s how we win.

Catching COVID-19 is not an automatic death sentence. But if politicians and other leaders in Canada had not taken action, hundreds of thousands of lives may have been lost while millions more may have been sickened by it — and we don’t know what the long-term consequences might be.

It’s on us to stop this dreadful thing.

On you.

On me.

Keep the faith, and stay healthy.

— Jillian