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in si de ha lto n. co m O ak vi lle B ea ve r | T hu rs da y, Ju ly 2, 20 20 | 6 ABOUT US This newspaper, published every Thursday, is a division of the Metroland Media Group Ltd., a wholly-owned subsidiary of Torstar Corporation. The Metroland family of newspapers is comprised family of newspapers is comprised f of more than 80 community publications across Ontario. This newspaper is a member of the National NewsMedia Council. Complainants are urged to bring their concerns to the attention of the news- paper and, if not satisfied, write The National NewsMedia Council, Suite 200, 890 Yonge St., Toronto, ON M4W 2H2. Phone: 416-340-1981 Web: www.mediacouncil.ca insidehalton@metroland.com facebook.com/OakvilleBeavfacebook.com/OakvilleBeavf @OakvilleBeaver WHO WE ARE VP, Regional Publisher Kelly Montague Regional General Manager Jason Pehora Regional Managing Editor Catherine O'Hara Managing Editor Karen Miceli Director of Distribution Charlene Hall Circulation Manager Kim Mossman Director of Production Mark Dills Regional Production Manager Manny Garcia Directors of Advertising Cindi Campbell and Ryan Maraj CONTACT US Oakville Beaver 901 Guelph Line Burlington, ON L7R 3N8 Phone: 905-845-3824 Classifieds: 1-800-263-6480 Advertising: 289-293-0620 Delivery For all delivery inquiries, please e-mail kmossman@metroland.com or call 905-631-6095. Letters to the editor Send letters to insidehalton@metroland.com. All letters must be fewer than 320 words and include your name and telephone number for verification purposes. We reserve the right to edit, condense or reject letters. Published letters will appear in print and/or online at insidehalton.com OPINION TO LEARN HOW TO SUBMIT YOUR OWN CONTENT VISIT INSIDEHALTON.COM I saw an elderly man; blue plaid shirt, his hair a white cloud around his head. He was standing out- side an emergency de- partment, his hand on the window, watching his wife; frail, coughing, waiting for masked health-care workers to take her through triage. "Is this the last time I'll see her?" I hugged my mom and dad. I hadn't seen them in months because of the pandemic. But now, as case counts dropped, it be- came safe enough to al- low gatherings big enough to include me, my kids and my parents. Hugging them was clumsy, all elbows and chins. We had forgotten how to hug, it seemed. But my heart lifted all the same. The cost of this pan- demic can't just be mea- sured in illnesses, ICU beds, deaths, job losses, overwhelmed health- care systems and burned out front-line workers. There has been a hu- man toll that we've only just begun to realize. Mental illness has spiked. Isolated, afraid, faced with an uncertainfaced with an uncertainf present and future, many struggle with newly on- set depression and/or anxiety. The incidence of do- mestic violence has in- creased. Parents are frus- trated juggling home- schooling with working from home. from home. f Teenagers, whose identity and develop- ment is shaped by their social circles, stare at si- lent walls in their bed- rooms. Loneliness has shot through the roof as peo- ple are forcibly separated from their usual socialfrom their usual socialf supports. Caregivers and fami- lies are left unable to help, watching as their loved ones have gotten sick, sicker or even died. Alone. Apart. Similarly, my patient watched through the win- dow of the nursing home: her husband, short of breath from a COPD exac- erbation, weakened from dementia, unable to un- derstand why she could no longer be by his side when she had been there every day for 63 years. As we work to get our lives in order, our health- care system and economy up and going, we can't for- get the human toll of this pandemic. A second wave will likely hit our shores this fall. We have a window offall. We have a window off opportunity here to con- sider how, armed with knowledge and experi- ence, we can and must do better the next go- around. Nadia Alam is a Hal- ton physician and past president of the Ontario Medical Association. Her columns also appear on www.drnadiaalam.com. She can be reached through her website. THE IMMEASURABLE TOLL OF COVID-19 WITH THE COUNTLESS LOSSES IN RECENT MONTHS, A SIMPLE HUG TRULY LIFTED THE SPIRIT, WRITES DR. NADIA ALAM Over the past few months, our community has come together to flat- ten the curve and stop the spread of COVID-19. Although this has been a challenging time for everyone, our re-for everyone, our re-f sponse has demonstrated the resiliency and dedica- tion of our community. As of June 19, as part of the province's Stage 2 plan, more businesses, services, recreational and outdoor facilities were permitted to reopen across our region. We've moved to Stage 2We've moved to Stage 2W based on our low case numbers, local hospitals sustaining adequate ca- pacity, 90 per cent of new COVID-19 cases and close contacts being reached by public health within one day, and adherence to physical distancing and public health measures within our community. This has truly been a collective effort to get us to this stage. I'd like to thank our residents, public health team, essential workers and those who continue to fight COVID-19 on the front line. All of us havefront line. All of us havef worked tirelessly togeth- er to protect the safety and health of our commu- nity and we should be proud of our progress to flatten the curve, keep usflatten the curve, keep usf safe and move Halton for- ward. To help residents and businesses navigate next steps, we've launched a new "Reopening Halton Region" webpage on hal- ton.ca that includes in- formation on what's re-formation on what's re-f opening and guidance for residents and businesses on public health mea- sures that must be in place. This webpage will be updated regularly. Please continue to vis- it halton.ca/COVID19 to get the latest information on COVID-19 in our com- munity and public health direction. As we begin to return to a "new normal" and ad- ditional restrictions are eased, remember that we are still all in this togeth- er. We need to continueWe need to continueW following public healthfollowing public healthf direction, ensure work- place health and safety guidance is followed, and make responsible choices to protect ourselves, our loved ones and communi- ty. Thank you again for everything that you con- tinue to do to stop the spread of COVID-19 and keep Halton a great place to live, work, raise a fami- ly and retire. Gary Carr is the re- gional chair of Halton Region. To contact him, email gary.carr@hal- ton.ca. MOVING FORWARD TOGETHER AS WE ENTER STAGE 2 WE MUST REMAIN VIGILANT AS RESTRICTIONS ARE EASED, WRITES GARY CARR GARY CARR Column NADIA ALAM Column