BC Ferries, COVID-19 and the Limits of Human Intelligence

This column is dedicated to all the workers at BC Ferries who do their best to stay pleasant in the face of human stupidity.

I was a BC Ferries passenger this week, it was the first time I decided to travel since the pandemic was declared on March 11, 2020.

Even though I had two vaccines, I brought my KN 95 mask.

This is because I have read the reports on a small percentage of vaccinated people who still end up in the hospital with COVID-19.

I didn’t want to be added to that total. Not only that, I don’t want to pass COVID-19 to those who haven’t been vaccinated.

While planning my short island getaway, I made a reservation to travel on a Thursday (July 29). As a long-time resident of British Columbia, I knew that on Friday July 30, before the BC Holiday Long Weekend, it would be a madhouse at the Tsawwassen Ferry Terminal.

Also, I suspected that on Friday August 30, so many people would want to escape that the terminals would be crowded with cars. I half expected that it would not be possible to get on the tarmac, even with a reservation.

I had also planned to come back on a “day off” to avoid the same problem on my way back from Vancouver Island.

Charitably speaking, it’s not too bright to show up at the Tsawwassen Ferry Terminal in a car on a Friday before BC Holiday Weekend without a reservation.

To do this in the middle of a heatwave minus a reservation is absurd.

But many chose to do it anyway, including, I guess, some longtime residents of British Columbia who should be better informed. Because of their stupidity, these people had to stand on the tarmac under the scorching sun for about seven hours.

Police had to be called to deal with the massive traffic at the Horseshoe Bay terminal.

Who in their right mind would do this to their children? Or their pets?

The media coverage made them appear as victims and portrayed BC Ferries as the problem. And BC Ferries’ ever-patient spokesperson Deborah Marshall has had to explain once again that the state-owned company has only a limited number of vessels and crew to keep up with demand. .

I know full well that it’s a tradition in coastal communities to complain about BC Ferries. And there are good reasons: the high fares, canceled departures in bad weather, slow ship speeds, and the very rare times one of these ships crashes into a dock.

In addition, BC Ferries has been slow to adapt to the climate crisis compared to other ferry operators. As some ferry companies switched to battery-powered electric power to protect the planet, BC Ferries’ climate solution was to examine using liquefied natural gas in a sop to provincial politicians.

But having to wait for hours on the busiest weekend of the year because you haven’t made a reservation doesn’t strike me as something that should be blamed on BC Ferries or its beleaguered employees.

Video of MASK IT OU COFFRET by SFH

COVID imbecility

Here is another example of passenger silliness. BC Ferries recommends that people go to air-conditioned terminals to avoid the heat.

But when I did that, I was amazed to see huge crowds of quite close people, the vast majority of whom weren’t wearing masks.

I felt like I was inside Rogers Arena in the concessions between periods of a hockey game. I didn’t care about that. Being outside in the heat was less threatening.

Even though BC Ferries recommends people wear masks on ferries, I estimated that about 80% of the passengers on my Thursday crossing refused to do so. No more madness.

I felt sorry for the residents of Vancouver Island, who fared better than their Lower Mainland counterparts when it comes to avoiding COVID-19.

It was obvious to me what would happen in their communities in about two weeks from the visit of all those ferry passengers who reject the masks.

I also had sympathy for the staff at BC Ferries, especially those who might be immunocompromised. I knew passengers without masks didn’t care about their well-being.

On the same day that hordes of people waited at the Tsawwassen ferry terminal, Canada’s chief public health officer, Dr. Theresa Tam, warned that Canada was heading for a “fourth wave driven by the delta.” .

It will mean more business closures, more people made redundant, more hospitalizations and, yes, more deaths. And that’s because too many people refuse to get vaccinated and refuse to wear masks indoors or on BC Ferries.

They are tired of covering their mouths and noses. We hear this constantly. On FOX News, I attended a panel discussion where the five people decried this as an attack on their freedom.

Poor babies. I wonder how they would have behaved in Britain in 1940 during the blitz, when people faced much more painful challenges than simply having to put on a mask inside and stay two meters away from strangers.

If they or a loved one ends up in the hospital because of COVID-19, they may realize how selfish and inconsiderate they have been in refusing to make a small sacrifice for the welfare of their neighbors. This includes neighbors who have to live with cancer, cardiovascular disease, multiple sclerosis, diabetes and many other health issues.

Workers who have had to keep working during the pandemic, like those at BC Ferries, already face enough risks on the job without having to worry about the fools they face on a daily basis. To give these people a break, just put on a goddamn mask where it’s recommended.

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