TORONTO -- Sparked by an explosion of COVID-19 cases, Quebec鈥檚 month-long curfew could increase people鈥檚 feelings of loneliness, one expert warned, urging people to maintain personal connections and physical activity.
鈥淧eople are getting fed up with the uncertainty.鈥 Roger McIntyre, a psychiatry and pharmacology professor from the University of Toronto, told 麻豆影视 Channel on Sunday.
McIntyre understands how maddening it must be for Quebecers to contend with yet another measure when they are already facing economic strife under COVID-19 public health restrictions.
鈥淭his is really an anti-motivation time,鈥 McIntyre, head of the Mood Disorders Psychopharmacology Unit at the University Health Network, said. 鈥淲e got not only this virus, but we have the incredible loneliness that goes along with being asked to stay home.鈥
Everything is compounding in what he calls, 鈥渕alignant uncertainty,鈥 which he says isn鈥檛 conducive to people鈥檚 well-being.
The curfew was spurred on by Quebec鈥檚 dismal COVID-19 figures. Just this weekend, the province broke a record for .
The , is the first of its kind in Canada and has few exceptions, requiring residents to be in their homes from 8 p.m. until 5 a.m. each night. That forced time at home will likely increase feelings of isolation, McIntyre said.
'VACCINE' FOR LONELINESS IS 'CONNECTING WITH PEOPLE'
鈥淚t鈥檚 really important to underscore how, coming into this pandemic, about half of our population was already reporting themselves as feeling incredibly lonely,鈥 McIntyre said, appearing to .
And until approved vaccines are given to the general population, 鈥渢he 鈥榲accine鈥 against this terrible distress is connecting with people,鈥 McIntyre said. 鈥渢hat it not only but gives us a sense of better well-being.鈥
He urged people to keep reaching out to each other online or over video services such as Zoom, but also stressed the 鈥渆lementary鈥 importance of a good, balanced diet and regular sleep.
Treating yourself with artistic pursuits, reading or arts, for example, is key to people reportedly feeling less lonely, distressed, irritable and uncertain as well, McIntyre said. He added that even though it鈥檚 cold in most parts of the country for people to go outside: 鈥淧rescribe yourself some activity.鈥
This could even be as simple as going on brief walks. McIntyre said doubling down on all of this is 鈥減retty basic and it works. It absolutely works鈥 at improving quality of life.
WILL THE CURFEW BE EFFECTIVE?
On the first night of the curfew, were given to protesters in Montreal and approximately 200 across the province. But a civil rights lawyer expressed worry about how the curfew would be enforced and who鈥檇 be disproportionately affected by it.
鈥淲e know that police attention is disproportionately focused on certain populations and certain neighbourhoods,鈥 Cara Zwibel, a lawyer for the Canadian Civil Liberty Association, told 麻豆影视 Montreal. 鈥淚t tends to be people who are socio-economically disadvantaged, racialized people, Indigenous that are the target of greater scrutiny by the police.鈥
As to whether Quebec鈥檚 move will work, showed its curfews were able to slow the spread of COVID-19, at least for certain age groups. The study found that the country鈥檚 curfews that began in October did slow the infections, with the strongest effect for those 60 years old and older.
However, for everyone younger, it appeared that overall lockdown methods was the bigger factor.
One expert reminds everyone that curfews won鈥檛 solve the explosion of cases on its own.
鈥淚t鈥檚 just another tool to use in addition to the other public health measures,鈥 Dr. Ronald St. John, former director-general of the Centre for Emergency Preparedness and Response, told 麻豆影视 Channel on Sunday.
鈥淲e can wash our hands, we can wear a mask, we can keep our social distance, we can reduce the number of contacts and now with a curfew, we can stay home,鈥 he said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 a limited number of tools.鈥
St. John said officials are trying to pull off a difficult balancing act of the 鈥渆conomic harm done by our public health measures versus not having those public health measures and having the virus come back.鈥
