Alberta health officials often say people should be taking extra precautions because they don’t know how a large percentage of COVID-19 cases are being transmitted in the community..Well, after my CTrain ride from hell on Wednesday, I know one place they can start..The series of disturbing incidents began after I left the downtown Western Standard office and jumped onto a southbound LRT train about 2:10 p.m. MST..Unfortunately, there was a gentleman – and I use that term loosely – who had been on the platform yelling obscenities at the top of his voice..I’m not sure what his anger was directed at, but he was obviously under the influence of drugs or alcohol. Quite possibly both..I watched with unease as the man also boarded my train. He sat down momentarily, then got up and continued with his loud verbal diatribe..All without wearing a mask..Current Calgary bylaws say you must have a mask on while taking transit..Fortunately, the screamer got off a couple of stops later and was last seen stumbling and trying how to figure out how to open the door to get into the downtown Bay.. POLL: Many Albertans say they will ignore Christmas COVID lockdown .But the ride from hell was just beginning..Taking his place in the seat across from me was a young woman in her early 20s, wearing jeans with no knees in them and running shoes with no laces. If I had to guess, I would say she was from the city’s vulnerable population..And she was visibly quite ill..For the first few stops she was content with brushing her hair and shaking it all over the place..Then the coughing began. And she couldn’t stop. It sounded like a very bad chest or lung infection. Her repeated coughs sounded almost guttural..And she wasn’t wearing a mask..The eyes of the man sitting next to her literally widened in terror. He tried to slide down the seat as far away as he could. But there really was no escape..I saw all my already-reduced Christmas plans going “poof.”.Apparently tired out from her coughing fits, the woman then laid out on her portion of the seat, using her knapsack as a pillow. But she couldn’t sleep because of the continuing coughs wracking her..The easiest option would have been to get up and move. But the car was crowded and I’m not sure there were seats available..The other question I asked myself was why myself, or the gentleman next to her, didn’t confront either of these people, asking them to put on their masks?.The only answer I could come up with was that I didn’t want to aggravate someone who was already under the significant influence of booze and/or drugs. We’ve all seen the violent actions which this can provoke..The ride from Hell was completed by another man in the carriage who was obviously developmentally delayed..He just walked from end to end of the car. He would get to the end, stare out a window momentarily, turn around and walk back again. He ended up passing in front of me every 15 seconds, all the time muttering under his breath..And not wearing a mask..I finally escaped at the Canyon Meadows station, gulping in the crisp, fresh air. I thought to myself that if I didn’t catch coronavirus on that trip, I wouldn’t catch it anywhere..I don’t claim to know what the solution to this problem is. We can’t have Transit staff on every train to make sure the rules are followed in an enviornment that is clearly ripe for infections..But in my many rides downtown since the start of fall, I haven’t seen a single visit by a peace officer. They must be preparing to raid small family Christmas gatherings..If health officials want an answer to where the community transmission is coming from, they might want to start with Calgary’s CTrain..Dave Naylor is the News Editor of the Western Standard.dnaylor@westernstandardonline.com.TWITTER: Twitter.com/nobby7694
Alberta health officials often say people should be taking extra precautions because they don’t know how a large percentage of COVID-19 cases are being transmitted in the community..Well, after my CTrain ride from hell on Wednesday, I know one place they can start..The series of disturbing incidents began after I left the downtown Western Standard office and jumped onto a southbound LRT train about 2:10 p.m. MST..Unfortunately, there was a gentleman – and I use that term loosely – who had been on the platform yelling obscenities at the top of his voice..I’m not sure what his anger was directed at, but he was obviously under the influence of drugs or alcohol. Quite possibly both..I watched with unease as the man also boarded my train. He sat down momentarily, then got up and continued with his loud verbal diatribe..All without wearing a mask..Current Calgary bylaws say you must have a mask on while taking transit..Fortunately, the screamer got off a couple of stops later and was last seen stumbling and trying how to figure out how to open the door to get into the downtown Bay.. POLL: Many Albertans say they will ignore Christmas COVID lockdown .But the ride from hell was just beginning..Taking his place in the seat across from me was a young woman in her early 20s, wearing jeans with no knees in them and running shoes with no laces. If I had to guess, I would say she was from the city’s vulnerable population..And she was visibly quite ill..For the first few stops she was content with brushing her hair and shaking it all over the place..Then the coughing began. And she couldn’t stop. It sounded like a very bad chest or lung infection. Her repeated coughs sounded almost guttural..And she wasn’t wearing a mask..The eyes of the man sitting next to her literally widened in terror. He tried to slide down the seat as far away as he could. But there really was no escape..I saw all my already-reduced Christmas plans going “poof.”.Apparently tired out from her coughing fits, the woman then laid out on her portion of the seat, using her knapsack as a pillow. But she couldn’t sleep because of the continuing coughs wracking her..The easiest option would have been to get up and move. But the car was crowded and I’m not sure there were seats available..The other question I asked myself was why myself, or the gentleman next to her, didn’t confront either of these people, asking them to put on their masks?.The only answer I could come up with was that I didn’t want to aggravate someone who was already under the significant influence of booze and/or drugs. We’ve all seen the violent actions which this can provoke..The ride from Hell was completed by another man in the carriage who was obviously developmentally delayed..He just walked from end to end of the car. He would get to the end, stare out a window momentarily, turn around and walk back again. He ended up passing in front of me every 15 seconds, all the time muttering under his breath..And not wearing a mask..I finally escaped at the Canyon Meadows station, gulping in the crisp, fresh air. I thought to myself that if I didn’t catch coronavirus on that trip, I wouldn’t catch it anywhere..I don’t claim to know what the solution to this problem is. We can’t have Transit staff on every train to make sure the rules are followed in an enviornment that is clearly ripe for infections..But in my many rides downtown since the start of fall, I haven’t seen a single visit by a peace officer. They must be preparing to raid small family Christmas gatherings..If health officials want an answer to where the community transmission is coming from, they might want to start with Calgary’s CTrain..Dave Naylor is the News Editor of the Western Standard.dnaylor@westernstandardonline.com.TWITTER: Twitter.com/nobby7694