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KelVarnsen
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# Posted: 30 Mar 2020 08:26am
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Canadian officials are recommending that people avoid their cottages/second homes in cottage country. This is primarily due to the strain that it puts on smaller communities that may be understaffed and under-serviced, particularly at this time of year.
I happen to be at my cabin right now and have been for 10 days. I did bring all supplies that I needed and haven't ventured off my property. A local happened by and he was complaining about how difficult the influx of people has been on the local stores.
Here is a good article from the Federation of Ontario Cottagers' Associations (FOCA).
FOCA reminds members that our rural communities have reduced capacity to accommodate sudden changes in supply demands. Many of us wouldn’t ordinarily open the cottage until nearer to the May long weekend. As we already know from our local grocery experiences, parts of the supply chain are under strain. Additionally, rural hospitals have limited capacity and resources, and you should consider where your health needs can best be met, in an emergency situation.
If you do relocate to your waterfront residence (or are there already), FOCA suggests the following:
Provision yourself for several weeks (with food, drinks, gas, hardware supplies, prescriptions) before leaving your off-season community, so that you will not need to make stops along the way. This is not the time for our usual credo to “buy local†in cottage country. As you would do anywhere at this time, should you urgently need anything from a retailer or pharmacy you should call ahead to see if there are options for safe pickup or delivery.
Continue to follow all the principles of social distancing at the cottage! Although cottage country is usually the place for relaxed rules, that cannot be the case anywhere for the foreseeable future. Cottages are often the gathering places for multiple households in an extended family; for now, and possibly for some time to come, that could put everyone at risk.
Develop an exit plan with immediate family, in case you develop any indications of illness while at your waterfront property.
As the clock slows down on our usually-hectic schedules, use this time to enjoy nature, cook, read, sing, dance, nap and dream about dock-jumping time to come.
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FishHog
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# Posted: 30 Mar 2020 09:04am
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I've been reading a lot about this and its a tough call. Personally I go to the cottage with all my supplies. In 5 years of ownership I've been to town 5 times and that was on extended stays in the summer.
I don't want to get sick at the cottage and would bail for home if I did, but really see no issue getting back into the woods where I don't see anyone. Makes for easy social distancing.
Funny how Trudeau was just cautioning people about going to their cottages for the reasons you mentioned above. A little later in the interview a reporter asked about his wife and he said she is doing well and left with the kids for the summer residence. Kind of a double standard there.
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KelVarnsen
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# Posted: 30 Mar 2020 10:04am
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Quoting: FishHog Kind of a double standard there.
Agreed. Double standard.
I'm actually heading back tomorrow to take care of some things at home, but I won't rule out coming back to my cabin. If I do, I'll make sure that I have all the supplies that I need to not leave my property. Also, if I feel even slightly that I have contracted something I will head home to not burden the cottage country medical system. I can get to my cottage on one tank of gas.
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FishHog
Member
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# Posted: 30 Mar 2020 04:18pm
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Finally gas is cheap, and were not supposed to be driving.
Safe travels home.
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xtolekbananx
Member
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# Posted: 30 Mar 2020 05:04pm
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Well if people go to their cabins without supplies that is not very smart on their part because they have to venture to local town and might spread the virus. Going from big cities to remote areas is smart only if you bring supplies that will last a long time. Also if I own a property I dont like people to tell me that I can't go there, it is mine just like they have theirs. Stay smart and safe
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hattie
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# Posted: 30 Mar 2020 05:54pm
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We are getting a lot of people coming up here for extended weekends and they are decimating our one and only grocery store. They can return to their city homes and shop at a wide choice of stores. When they leave with all the groceries they bought locally it really puts locals in a pickle.
Our one grocery store is only receiving 60% of its orders so right there we are underserviced. That plus the influx of out-of-towners creates a real problem. Many locals are seniors who don't drive and can't access the nearest "city" store which is 2 hours away (each way).
Normally I love it when out-of-towners shop local stores. Unfortunately, in this situation it is a problem. Added to that, if they become ill, our one, small hospital would not be able to help them. Our medical centre is a "patch 'em up and ship 'em out" facility. They will stabilize you and send you elsewhere.
These are not normal times. If you want to hunker down in your cabin, please, please, bring your own supplies and only come if you are healthy.
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Nobadays
Member
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# Posted: 30 Mar 2020 06:24pm
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Last year we moved to the cabin for the summer the middle of May as that is when the road opened. This year we were planning the middle of April but the road is open now. We were up for a couple of weeks and went home a week ago today.... loaded up the Campervan, Tracker, Pickup and a trailer loaded with solar panels and some plywood and came back yesterday. We brought a small freezer full of meat and lots of bread, canned goods and other necessities. We don't expect to go to town for at least two or three weeks... by then we would know if we had somehow contracted the virus.
Oh and our primary home is in an AZ mountain community loaded with seasonal "cabins" (in quotes as many of the cabins in our area of AZ start around 500k and go up from there). The community there in AZ has a population of around 15k and the infrastructure to support it... what we call a "pack and ship" hospital.... they can handle a lot of different health needs but the really bad cases are shipped to Phoenix. Our main big town here in CO is around the same size, a little smaller but a college town so school year population is roughly identical.... as is the infrastructure...and guessing the hospital as well.
This part of CO swells in the summer mainly due to RV folks... there are a lot of cabins but I don't believe cabins come close to numbering as many RVs that flood the rural areas. My guess is that number will be way down this year... a guess of course. This to say the area can support a pretty large population seasonally. We are kind of moving from one seasonal area to another.... funny but folks in Phoenix come up to the AZ mountains because it is cooler... 110/115 in Phoenix but still in the 90's in the mountains.... we don't find sustained 90's with nights in the 70's cool! That's why we spend the summer in CO.
We don't feel we would be a significant burden on the community if the need arises. Health care in either community would be about the same. Interestingly 1 case of Covid-19 in our AZ community, 2 cases in our CO area. In both areas these folks are self quarantined.
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silverwaterlady
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# Posted: 30 Mar 2020 06:55pm
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I’m sorry Hattie.
Where you live reminds me so much of our special place.
The problem they had up there were spring breakers going to their cabins from Toronto.
In the last few days two cases of the virus, locals.
The population is predominantly elderly.
It is so disheartening to think that they just could not stay home. Forgo their spring break to help keep the elderly people living there safe.
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FishHog
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# Posted: 30 Mar 2020 08:03pm
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That is quite the assumption that it was a cottager that gave a local the virus. Could have been just as easily one of them going to Toronto to see family or a doctor
Fact is it is going to hit every part of the country and blaming others is not the way to get through this
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silverwaterlady
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# Posted: 30 Mar 2020 11:34pm
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I am simply reporting what more than one person has told me up there.
I am in a lock down state. Nobody is going anywhere. We are number three in the USA for COVID-19. My daughter and I live in different counties that are hot spots.
We are not going ANYWHERE WE ARE SELF QUARANTINED.
Why in the world would anyone travel right now spreading this. STAY PUT. STAY HOME.
Don’t travel to tiny towns from big cities.
IF YOU DO YOU ARE PART OF THE PROBLEM.
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hattie
Member
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# Posted: 30 Mar 2020 11:43pm
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Thank you for that very important post Silverwaterlady!
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ICC
Member
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# Posted: 30 Mar 2020 11:52pm
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Quoting: silverwaterlady Why in the world would anyone travel right now spreading this. STAY PUT. STAY HOME.
 Quoting: silverwaterlady Don’t travel to tiny towns from big cities.
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Brettny
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# Posted: 31 Mar 2020 07:13am
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I'm roughly 2hrs from NYC. There are many second homes and camps in norther/central Ny. Many of the counties have very small hospitals and can be overwhelmed real quick. With that being said our governor is sending people from NYC to hospitals up there. He's spreading the virus him self.
Personally we would alreaty be at our property if it wasn't a shed in the woods and our 3 month old was a bit older.
You can quarantine any where. Quarantine in this case is staying away from other people. Most of us can do that better at our cabins, properties, hunting camp or what ever you call it.
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FishHog
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# Posted: 31 Mar 2020 08:31am
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Quoting: silverwaterlady I am simply reporting what more than one person has told me up there.
Look, I'm scared too, but I'm pointing out that blaming one group isn't the way to go when there is no data to support it.
If none of the older people in that area were snowbirds or had traveled anywhere (which I highly doubt), then maybe they could blame cottagers. But I've read so many theories and miss information in the past two weeks that just isn't helpful, yet people love to spread it.
In Ontario the Gov't told people to go enjoy their March break. 2 Days later lockdown's were announced and people out of the country were told to come home. I bet some were in the community your talking about.
So those people from Toronto who went to their cottages for march break were already there. So what were they to do? Pack up and go home or stay were they were very much more isolated than they would have been in Toronto?
The whole situation is unfortunate, but had to blame them for the issue.
If you don't keep your distance and spread this to other people "you are the problem". If you go to your isolated cottage and don't see anyone your not the problem.
I get people like to blame others, but where do we start? China, Bats, Trump, Canadian Gov't, spring breakers, etc. The list is endless and all of the above are involved. Cottagers not so much, (but yes I'm sure there are some stupid cottagers that aren't helping also).
Like Brettny said above. "Quarantine is staying away from other people". That is the key here.
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ICC
Member
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# Posted: 31 Mar 2020 09:25am - Edited by: ICC
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Quoting: FishHog (but yes I'm sure there are some stupid cottagers that aren't helping also).
Stupid or ignorant people are always a problem; cottagers, cabiners, city folks, whoever and wherever. My part of NM has more than its fair share of the stupid and ignorant from what my in town friends tell me on the phone.
Since it is sometimes not easy to tell the stupid from smart, and since the virus does not float around one like a brown cloud, if everyone one stayed home, unless they were absolutely essential, then we all might be safer.
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Brettny
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# Posted: 31 Mar 2020 10:34am
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The last time we went into any store was a week ago. This dosnt mean you can do things it just means you need to be careful. Quarantine dosnt mean you cant go for a hike or a bike ride, take the lawn or cut some firewood and paint the fence.
We still get out daily for a hike. We just don't go to the major walking areas unless it's raining and if it's a bright sunny day we may stay home and get things done around here.
Blaming this on any one type of person isn't helping. Also if your prepared there's nothing to be afraid of and this is coming from someone in southern NY with an infant. Take precautions and don't sit around and dwell on all the bad things that could happen.
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KelVarnsen
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# Posted: 31 Mar 2020 11:00am
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Quoting: FishHog I'm sure there are some stupid cottagers that aren't helping also
Kinda like these idiots (entertaining read).
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FishHog
Member
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# Posted: 31 Mar 2020 11:48am
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Quoting: KelVarnsen Kinda like these idiots (entertaining read).
Wow, that was poorly thought out. My uncle who lives in Whitehorse was the doctor for Old Crow for over 20 years. He flew his own plane in once a month and many times was paid with fish or a quarter of a caribou.
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bushbunkie
Member
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# Posted: 31 Mar 2020 06:02pm
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KelVarnsen - that's a funny article...but boy are those guys thick! Let's introduce Covid-19 to this little arctic community...duhhh!
Anyway...a couple quotes that have put things into perspective for my family and I as I work from home with two boys who have also been sent home from Guelph University to finish there studies online....
#1. You are not in isolation at home...you are SAFE at home.
#2. Our grandparents were asked to sacrifice and go to war...you're being asked to sacrifice and sit on the couch...suck it up buttercup!
#3. And a funny one for all the women out there now stuck with their husbands at home...heard from one wife to another..." It ain't Covi19 that's gonna kill my husband!!!"
Have a great evening, CAbineers.
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ICC
Member
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# Posted: 31 Mar 2020 06:33pm
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hattie
Member
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# Posted: 31 Mar 2020 06:54pm
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Janemarie
Member
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# Posted: 2 Apr 2020 06:54pm
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My husband is a health care worker in Central New York and I am a person with pretty crappy lungs. We were following this virus since January (I had a graduate student from Hubei) and were discussing what we would do if this got established in the US. Starting the beginning of February, I did some serious stocking up at our home (and we eat such weird stuff, I am sure nobody noticed), and I got the cabin fully stocked. On February 24, I wrote my university and based on my readings of discussions of the CDC briefings and the international news, I asked when we should transition our classes to distance learning. I got treated like Chicken Little. The next week, I told my students to download ZOOM and we started learning on-line. Two weeks later, the university abruptly changed position and closed classes, but I had already moved up here alone, with the dog, internet I begrudgingly had installed, and the ability to work from home. I have been here almost three and a half weeks. It is lonely but I love it up here. And my husband is sitting in the calm before the storm an hour away. I have one funny quote to share and this describes my mental state: After all the crazy and dangerous horses I have ridden, if I die because I touched my face, I am gonna be pissed.
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FishHog
Member
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# Posted: 3 Apr 2020 08:34am
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Good for you Janemarie. Enjoy your safe place and hope you and your husband make it through this in good health.
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KelVarnsen
Member
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# Posted: 3 Apr 2020 08:44am
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Quoting: Janemarie I got treated like Chicken Little.
I felt the same way Janemarie. I knew that we were going to be in difficult times fairly early but most people were dismissing my concerns.
Quoting: Janemarie After all the crazy and dangerous horses I have ridden, if I die because I touched my face, I am gonna be pissed.
Love it!
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Eddy G
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# Posted: 3 Apr 2020 02:26pm
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We live in the suburbs and our cabin is around 80 miles away across state lines.
My wife and I are staying as isolated as possible.
I took a voluntary (kind of sorta) lay off two weeks ago and she's been working from home.
We are either at home or deep in the woods at the cabin.
We do what little grocery shopping we need to do here at home and take all the necessary precautions in handling, packing and unpacking things.
I carry our last real-estate tax bill and an electric bill for the cabin (due to unique circumstances we are on grid). Just in case we're stopped or asked any questions. We even carry wipes to wipe down the gas handles before and after we get gas.
I feel as if we're being reasonable and responsible and doing our best to get through this thing.
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Ontario lakeside
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# Posted: 3 Apr 2020 04:33pm
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The virus is passed person to person. No contact = no transmission. I can get in my car travel without stopping and walk to my cabin without seeing another person, the nearest possibly occupied cabin is 3000'+ away. This is less risky than going to walmart.
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shingobeek
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# Posted: 4 Apr 2020 11:52am
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We have chosen to go to our cabin due to the fact that the same grocery store and hospital we would use at our main home is the same as the one at our cabin! We are self sufficient and bring what we need, no stops. Same county, 50 miles from main home....off grid, no road access, no phone access, no electric, no cell, no virus
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KinAlberta
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# Posted: 4 Apr 2020 06:57pm - Edited by: KinAlberta
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“We only have one ventilator!†(See article below)
Canadian tourist-dependent communities urge outsiders to stay away as coronavirus spreads - The Globe and Mail William Brown, a physician in the region, posted a letter on Facebook, asking Albertans to stay on their side of the boundary. The letter said the area’s hospital has only eight beds and only eight full-time doctors cover the emergency department, clinics and hospital patients. “We only have one ventilator!†the letter said. “Our town is small and isolated and our closest intensive care unit will likely be strained with our regional cases.†...†https://www.theglobeandmail.com/canada/alberta/article-canadian-tourist-dependent-com munities-urge-outsiders-to-stay-away-as/
I’m no doctor so I was rather shocked that a mountain town likely subject to forest fires and so smoke inhalation issues wouldn’t be equipped with more than one ventilator. But I guess it keeps taxes low.
Our property is a fairly short drive from our city. The closest hospital is 20 minutes away from the cabin. With something like Covid-19 we’d definitely drive the extra distance to return to our city hospitals.
Until the snow melts and we can drive in, we’ll just be going out for the day to check on the place. If this lasts for months I’m sure that they will be re-opening the economy and then just locking down anyone at risk (old and/or with underlying conditions). That could really mess up my spring time plans to get working on the old cabins, etc. because I have an underlying condition and I’m not keen to spend my year in self-iso.
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silverwaterlady
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# Posted: 4 Apr 2020 09:17pm
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And still they come....
They know who you are and that you don’t give a damn about them or their families.
People from small towns DO NOT FORGET.
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ICC
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# Posted: 4 Apr 2020 11:26pm
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