The COVID-19 pandemic has been going on for several months and many safety protocols have been put in place that many had never experienced before, the most extreme of which was a full lockdown.

Retired public health worker Jo Beyers told Arctic Radio that the lockdown approach was put in place because early on we did not know how this virus worked, and having too many cases early on could have overwhelmed the healthcare system.

Beyers explained that the lockdown put in place early on helped our health care systems to prepare and adapt to the current situation.

While we are still in the pandemic, Beyers also recommends that we avoid what is known as the three C’s of COVID: closed spaces, crowded places, and close contact.

She added that in the foreseeable future we will continue to see regional and local public health responses which will be different depending on the number of active cases in the respective areas.