To offer healthcare workers a bit of a boost while they work the frontlines of the Covid-19 pandemic, Canadians are cheering from their windows.
Every night at 7:00, to mark shift-change, residents of different cities like Toronto and Vancouver have been making noise for their local healthcare professionals.
One woman has started the movement in her own Prince George neighborhood and is trying to grow it.
“The first night that I did it, there was lots of noise in my street, which was fantastic!” said Dawn Dunbar, a housekeeper at the University Hospital of Northern BC.
“I was so happy last night because as I started walking out the door I could hear the noise before I even started!”
Inspired by Italians singing on their balconies and similar cheers across the country, Dunbar wanted to bring the phenomenon closer to home.
She admits the city is ‘rather widespread’ but has come up with a creative solution.
“I know a lot of people are starting to get cabin fever from being self-quarantined. So if you want to get out, if you want your kids to have some fun, jump in your car at about ten to seven,” said Dunbar.
“Make your way in and around the hospital, unroll your windows, let your kids cheer at 7:00 and you can honk the horn! Drive up and down 15th avenue, down the streets by the hospital, it’s going to get you out of the house and you’re still going to be practicing physical distancing!”
The movement isn’t exclusive to the hospital though, Dubar stresses.
“It’s the police, the fire department, it’s the ambulance drivers, the care nurses that work in the long term homes for the elderly,”
“Believe me, we need the support because it’s just starting,” added Dunbar.
She plans to spearhead the campaign “every night until Covid is done.”
“I’ve already flattened one frying pan, so now I gotta find something else to make noise with!”
The amazing nightly cheer @ 7 pm in #Vancouver for all of the healthcare workers ????? Wait for it..?? @tytoff16 pic.twitter.com/QWEFsMPFJ0
— Cat (Belanger) Toffoli (@catbtoffoli) March 24, 2020
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