How Did This Happen?

We are in isolation in our own homes, condos and apartments.

How did this happen?

It started slowly, gradually, and then almost overnight, everything changed. Exactly two weeks ago, on Saturday, March 14th, it was still up to each family to calibrate the risks, assess for themselves whether it was really necessary to drastically change the way that they and all of humanity has lived since the beginning of time. 

Some families, like ours, had stocked up on toilet paper and preferred keeping playdates outdoors. Others felt this was all a bit overboard, and marched into restaurants and clothing stores, deliberately carrying on with life as we had always known it, purposefully washing their hands of the hysteria that the media had conjured up. 

At that time, HR departments in Ontario still sent managers guidance on how they should approach staff that preferred to work from home, barely masking a sense of reproach for those apocalyptic doomsdayers who wouldn't keep calm and come to work.

On Monday, the leaders still went to work, setting an example for the rest of us. By Tuesday, governments started to tell everyone to stay home and isolate. More and more provinces called states of emergency, and we all retreated into our own little worlds.