OPINION: If only…

If only all Ontarians (well, all Canadians and all citizens around the globe for that matter) did their part in helping to prevent the spread of COVID.

This is getting old.

Yes, we know people are complaining and are fed up with COVID restrictions. We hear you. And we also hear the governments and their efforts to curb the spread of the virus.

If only people followed social distancing guidelines, all the way along, and washed their hands regularly, or didn’t hang out in clusters with buddies.

If only our numbers had stayed lower. But mass family gatherings at Thanksgiving, as kids returned from urban areas rich with COVID to hug their mothers and fathers, delivering the virus with them and friends they reconnected with, sparked the upward crawl once again.

By Christmas, the second wave was well upon us, and we shut down the province again. People behaved, and COVID numbers plummeted.

The vaccines began to arrive, and many saw a light at the end of the tunnel.

If only someone didn’t push that light so much farther down the tunnel.

If only people didn’t travel for selfish reasons and instead respected guidelines to limit such excursions. How else did COVID variants gain such a foothold in Canada? Brazil, or the U.K. for that matter, are not our next-door neighbours.

If only the people of Toronto and the Greater Toronto Area didn’t consider themselves the be all and end all of the province. Shopping in mass numbers in malls? Mission unfortunately accomplished. Crowding into parks the past two weekends with few masks evident? They covered that as well, hugging and partying with pals along the way.

If only the provincial government knew how to actually lock things down. Half-ass efforts yield half-ass results.

If only small business didn’t have their collective legs cut out from underneath them. Why did it take a year for the provincial government to apply similar curbside guidelines to big-box corporate giants as it did to small businesses?

If only people respected one another, rather than constantly putting their needs first, we wouldn’t be in this lingering limbo.

If only there was some consistency at senior levels of government, as well as from the citizens, we might have never experienced a second or third wave.