To the editor,
Re: RCMP officers board B.C. Ferries vessels to help enforce health and safety rules, Nov. 11.
What a complete waste of police time this exercise is. B.C. Ferries staff have never been accused of being incapable of ensuring safety on their vessels either in the past or currently. Consequently we must assume the police presence is strictly due to the ludicrous ruling from Transport Canada that passengers must leave their cars and mix with others on the passenger decks. One has to wonder how this ruling could ever have been considered as constructive, leave alone becoming an iron-cast rule. Let us consider, just for a moment, how many people might possibly be infected by a possible COVID-19 carrier who stays in his/her own car during a ferry crossing. The answer must be obvious even to those Transport Canada bureaucrats: none.
Now let us consider the same driver who is forced to leave the safety of the car and mix with maybe hundreds of others on a crowded passenger deck. Even with masks in place and social distancing strictly observed, the possibility of virus transmission is increased by some unknown but definite factor. When other conditions such as mask removal to eat, drink, blow noses etc. are taken into consideration the odds of virus transmission increase substantially.
By and large the citizenry are responding well to all these unfortunate but perhaps necessary lifestyle restrictions. All the more reason then, to ensure that any further restrictions should be well thought out, thoroughly discussed with those affected and then considered completely necessary. Perhaps the great minds at Transport Canada that came up with this woeful effort should stick to transport problems and leave health and pandemic control to those who have at least a clue as to what they’re doing.
Garry Bradford, Nanaimo
READ ALSO: B.C. Ferries passengers won’t be allowed to stay on lower car decks much longer
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