Even as St. Albertans keep a minimum of two metres between themselves, Mayor Cathy Heron says she sees the community becoming “so much more connected than ever before.”
In a phone interview about St. Albert life in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, Heron said it is heartwarming to see the community come together in the midst of an unprecedented crisis.
“Because we are such social creatures, if you have to physically prevent us from being together then we will find another way,” she said.
One thing Heron noted has kept her sane through all of this is being intentional about connecting with old friends over video chats every evening.
Just over two weeks since the World Health Organization declared a pandemic, Heron said she can already tell from emails and online discussions with residents there has been a “change in tone.”
“It's just getting more and more frustrated, because there's just no end in sight. So that's kind of – I worry about that,” she said.
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For Heron, it has been important to keep a solid routine, and while the mayor’s normally busy calendar of events was suddenly cleared, Heron said the work of guiding a community in a time of crisis has picked up.
Being at home more has given Heron a chance to pick up her old passion for doing some yoga with her dog Boomer by her side, in addition to doing “lots of puzzles,” journaling and walks outside.
The biggest bright spot out of the pandemic for Heron so far has been what resulted from her call to the kids of St. Albert to send her letters about what they are up to, in an effort to help them practise their writing skills.
Heron said when we are through the COVID-19 pandemic, one thing she thinks will never be the same is how much residents appreciate local businesses.
“The recovery economically out of this, is going to be very prolonged,” she said. “I think we're never going to take our local businesses for granted again.”
For Coun. Wes Brodhead, the most “distressing” part of the pandemic is being limited to meeting with his kids and grandchildren virtually.
“It’s hard to hold your grandchildren and give them a hug and a kiss virtually,” he said. “You can laugh and joke and all of those sorts of things over the computer, but you can't hold them.”
As a result of physical isolation guidelines, Brodhead said he has become a “Zoomer generation guy,” keeping up with council and regional transit services commission work via Zoom video conferences.
One thing Brodhead noted he thinks will never be the same when COVID-19 passes is the level of awareness people have of being sick and distancing themselves.
With his father in the Wetaskiwin hospital, Coun. Ken MacKay said the most abnormal part of life right now has been making the daily drive to see his dad and getting swabbed daily before entering the facility.
MacKay is also member of council’s emergency advisory committee, which he said has kept him “quite busy” with twice-weekly meetings.
What is keeping MacKay sane in the midst of the COVID-19 crisis is seeing the “amazing” community response.
“We all know that our city is filled with absolutely amazing individuals and people and they will always help out their neighbours and their community,” MacKay said.
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Coun. Jacquie Hansen said it took her a few days to become accustomed to a new routine, but she sets a few goals each day, including cleaning one area of her house each day, which she has dubbed The Great COVID-19 Purge.
Hansen normally keeps active at the gym, but since facilities are closed, she has been working out at home and going on power walks with her Boston terrier, Molly.
Being a city councillor in the midst of such a crisis is about being a good listener, Hansen said, and she can hear a lot of anxiety in people’s voices, especially business owners.
The silver lining out of all of this, Hansen thinks, is people will appreciate each other more.
“I think overall the silver lining is going to be, don't sweat the small stuff, and lend a helping hand a little bit more when maybe before you didn't think to do that,” she said.
As a full-time student, board member for Homeland Housing and city councillor, Natalie Joly said she has not had much time to take on any new hobbies, although she is finding joy in seeing her partner's pea and tomato seedlings start to pop.
The most abnormal thing about life right now is watching her youngest daughter, age 7, learn to use online education tools. She added teachers are “doing an amazing job.”
Joly has been enjoying forest walks with her rescue dog, Waimak, occasionally spotting their resident moose and great horned owl.
One thing Joly said thinks will never be the same after COVID-19 is that people will never take for granted the ability to hug loves ones and the importance of community.
For Coun. Sheena Hughes, the biggest difference in her role as city councillor has been the uncertainty of when things will finally normalize, and delays in council decisions.
On a personal level, the amount of preparation that goes into a grocery trip to support her household of five has increased significantly.
Always having many interests outside of politics, Hughes said she has had more time to work on her own skin care products and writing her next book, about boosting immune systems naturally.
Hughes said after COVID-19, she does not think as many people will be prepared to kick off small businesses, who are being hit hard economically right now.
“In light of the fact that there could be another virus around any corner and the same level of extreme measures could be enacted at any time,” she said. “The confidence that government will work to keep business going, I think has had a pretty serious hit.”
