Quick replies
Hey guys, while I have a few minutes... (sorry I can't address everything right away)
1) Thank you to all the owners & managers of various establishments who have replied to this post, publicly and privately. My sense is that we're all pretty much aligned on the restart date, which bodes well for a measured and well-managed resumption of services.
2) There's no right answer to this, and no answer that would please everyone; there are those who think we should reopen yesterday, others who think we should reopen never, and a whole bunch of opinions in between. Truth is, nobody knows what's right, we came up with the best-reasoned position that seemed to make the most sense.
3) COVID-19 is a serious public health concern, and anyone who thinks it's a total hoax is an idiot. But a complete and unending lockdown isn't an option either. The only goal of the lockdown, and the reason Allegra stopped providing services in the first place, was to give the medical system a chance to get a handle on things before the entire thing was overwhelmed. That goal was achieved, and now, a measured and careful resumption of normal life will slowly come into place, to again prevent everything from being overwhelmed.
That's exactly what we're doing too, and we're planning to operate at a significantly reduced capacity.
4) COVID-19 poses different degrees of risk to different people. Thinking that everyone should just go back to normal yesterday because you're young and healthy is unreasonable; thinking that everyone should stay home forever because you're an at-risk person is equally unreasonable.
Policy exists in the space between compulsory and forbidden, and our goal here is to create a policy that maximizes health and safety while still allowing for personal risk assessment and choice.
5) COVID-19 is a major health risk, but so is poverty, and so is poor mental health. I expect Allegra will operate at a loss or very small profit for at least the rest of the year, but the SPs at our collective can't collect CERB forever, and unemployment is already at an all-time high, particularly for women in the service sector. And clients who rely on sex work for therapeutic services won't be able to get similar supports over zoom. We're a social and sexual species, and eventually we're all going to want to spend time with other humans.
6) Total suppression of COVID-19 isn't an immediate possibility, and might not be for many months (until a vaccine or effective treatment is widespread, or if herd immunity is attainable, which it may or may not be). At some point, the strategy will go from suppression to management, which is why being able to trace recent contacts - especially close or intimate contacts - and stopping "superspreaders" are two crucial tactics to keep it manageable. A single superspreader in a large group of people is a bigger risk to public health than a single SP seeing 2-3 clients in a day, even if that contact is more intimate; that's why we opted for Stage 2 (with booking limitations) instead of waiting for Stage 3 (which seemed to be more focused on group activities). But an
asymptomatic and unaware superspreader is a huge risk too, which is why we have to be able to text you (starting with a subtle "May I text?" message, with nothing further until we receive an affirmative reply) if there's a concern. We will NOT share any of your details with public health, and I don't think they can compel us to (a question for my lawyers, I guess) but the province and city have their hands full right now, I don't think they're set up to start banging on the doors of incalls, demanding phone records. If everyone is forthcoming and consistent about contact info, then we can at least let you know if you've come into contact with a possible spreader, or if you might be one yourself. Then, it's up to you to take the appropriate steps, and notify the appropriate people you've been close to.
7) We're all adults here, SPs and clients alike, and we're capable of making our own risk assessments in the current environment. There are certain guidelines that we follow, put forth by the province, but beyond that, it's ultimately up to you. Clients who see SPs have always done so, knowing there were some inherent risks; SPs see clients knowing the same. All we can do is adjust our behaviours within a range that we're comfortable with, to reduce that risk to a comfortable level. Sometimes an external factor comes along, and makes us recalibrate our risk tolerance; COVID-19 is such a factor. As we learn more about it, and as time goes by, our risk tolerance changes accordingly. But eventually, we all decide whether to partake or to abstain, and that's a personal decision that nobody else can make for us. You shouldn't live in a bubble your whole life, but you shouldn't run across a highway with your eyes closed either. All you can really do is make the choice that's best for you, based on what you know at the time, and hope that it turns out ok.
That's it for me for now, I'll try to address the other questions sometime next week. But in terms of bookings, we'll reopen our booking lines as soon as Doug announces the start date for Stage 2, and we'll start bookings from the start date and beyond.
Stay safe everyone!
Nikki
