Toronto Is A Ghost Town

The atmosphere is positively unnerving. The bustling city of Toronto has turned into a ghost town. When I came to work this morning (I’m not one of the lucky ones who can work from home), I checked my phone to see if I perhaps had made a mistake and it was 7:00 a.m. instead of 8:00 a.m. It was indeed shortly before 8:00 a.m., but where were the cars, where were the people?

Usually at this time of day the streets are congested with commuters, delivery vans and trucks. A steady stream of office workers walk purposefully to their destination. If seen from above, they would resemble a mass of ants. Now there is nobody.

The lobby of the TD Building was eerily quiet. Usually there are always workers and visitors milling around, now, other than the security guard, there was nobody. There was no lineup by the elevators either.

The office is even more spooky. Other than the receptionist, there’s nobody here. Every office and cubicle is empty. There’s no foot traffic, there’s no hum of conversation, and the phones aren’t ringing. Why the company asked me to stand in for a sick employee is a mystery to me.

Once settled at a desk, I decided to get some coffee. I went back downstairs, took the escalator to the food court and surprise, surprise it was as dead as a door nail there too. None of the food court places were open. Even Tim Horton's and MacDonald’s was closed, as was the big delicatessen store, the hair and nail salon, and the travel agent. Even the walk-in clinic was closed.

I really don’t know what I’m doing here. Why the employment agency asked me to stand in for a sick employee. It’s a waste of company money and my time.

I never actually realized what an effect the Corona virus had on society until today. I read about it online and knew the situation was bad, but it wasn’t until today that I saw the full effect.

Where I live it’s pretty much business as usual. Yes, the supermarket is near empty, but other than that everything is much the same. The SRT train takes on passengers, buses and cars drive up and down Lawrence Avenue, and there’s activity within the condo building. I hear the cleaning lady vacuuming the carpets, I hear doors opening and closing, people talking and kids screaming and laughing.

Is the Corona virus affecting me on a personal level? Yes and no. I’m extra careful in personal hygiene so the chances or me getting sick are minimal, but this doesn’t mean that the effects of the virus pass me by.

For starters I can’t take public transportation anymore. For the sake of safety, I have to take an Uber.

Shopping has become a hit and miss experience. The bread, meat, veggies, milk, and cereal shelves are often empty. Where bread is concerned, I didn’t think it to be a big deal, I could bake bread myself, but others seemed to have the same idea. When I arrived at the flour aisle, there were only two bags of flour left and no yeast.

A show that comes to Toronto once a year has been canceled. I’ve wanted to see this show for the longest time, but every year I missed out on tickets. This year, as soon as I heard that the show was coming, I bought my ticket. I watched the preview of the show a few times online and looked forward to see the dancers life. Now the show is canceled and I will have to wait another year to see it.

A vacation I planned in the third week of May is in jeopardy too. Air Canada advised me by email that the direct flight I had booked now has a scheduled layover of 1,5 hours in Montreal. Presumably to pick up more passengers. They did not mention that the $100 extra I’d paid for a direct flight would be reimbursed. Never mind, as long as I get to go I won’t complain, but the question is … will I be able to go? My whole vacation might be canceled.

And the most depressing part … nobody knows when this Corona virus pandemic will end. Plenty of preventative measures, but no concrete solution. In the meantime, Toronto — and other places I suspect — is a ghost town.