Is it safe to go outside? (COVID update)

With every country (and province) approaching the COVID-19 crisis differently, I find myself wondering whether or not it’s safe (or smart) to follow the municipal and provincial guidelines for self-isolation… given everything that we know.

Currently in Kelowna, BC there are a large number of individuals out walking the paths in all of our major pathways and trails. Dog parks still have lots of people in them. In fact, it sometimes feels like there’s more people outside now than usual for this time of year.

Traffic is still pretty bad, and many businesses who are allowed to stay open are still open. Even if we keep social distancing in mind, and stay at least 6-feet from one another, should we even be trying to get outside right now?

Or should we take self-isolation more seriously and put ourselves in stricter quarantines, similar to places like Italy, China, and New Zealand, even though our government isn’t putting these restrictions in place themselves?

We’ve seen many places now where the pandemic has hit extremely hard, some due to the fact that the proper pandemic response was late, or lacking. So my question for you….

Do we need to rely on our government to tell us what’s safe and what’s not? Or should we be taking the initiative ourselves? Curious to hear your thoughts in the comments below.