Figures that after I say “we’re doing okay” and an NYT op-ed calls Nova Scotia “a magical virus-free world”, that’s when Nova Scotia’s second wave would start..

Two COVID-19 cases hit schools in our immediate neighbourhood, so we pulled our kid from Pre-K out of an abundance of caution and started staying home again. New cases in NS peaked at 37 on Nov 24th, driven primarily by exposures at unmasked venues like bars, restaurants, and gyms — then gradually began to fall off later with the delayed effects of increased restrictions. (I still go to work if I’m needed on-site — coworkers are mostly properly masked and distanced, and we have our own offices.)

I think a lot about how billionaires are thriving in this pandemic era while ordinary people run out of money and face eviction. I think of how demand for exotic meats such as pangolin and bat was driven primarily not by the Chinese, but by wealthy travelers seeking exotic thrill. I think about Filipino nurses dying of COVID-19 in disproportionate numbers.

Last week was Thanksgiving, this month will be Christmas; too many people seem to be travelling like there’s no contagion, which means the weeks and months ahead will likely be overflowing with disease and death. Paradoxically, I worry that with good vaccine news on the horizon, undisciplined, lockdown-fatigued populations may treat the mere promise of vaccination as license to relax restrictions even more, causing new outbreaks and viral mutations — not to mention antivaxers and other conspiracy theorists rousing enough lethal denialism among reactionaries to make COVID-19 endemic, leading to even more death in the long term.

Meanwhile we sit and wait, still glad to be here in NS, where the community pandemic response has been called “magnificent.” Hoping that continues to bear out in the days ahead.