Are you excited to give someone a hug again?
While some people can't wait to embrace loved ones, friends and even neighbours, others feel less enthusiastic about the idea. In fact, some people say they don't want anyone to hug them, regardless of who is doing the hugging.
At least for now, the COVID-19 pandemic has changed the way many people feel about social interactions.
On Tuesday (May 25), Provincial Health Officer Dr. Bonnie Henry told reporters that she pitched the idea of a "B.C. Hug Day" to Premier John Horgan to celebrate the return of the social embrace.
Henry remarked that hugging is one of the things she misses most. "I've been trying to pitch to the premier that we should have B.C. Hug Day in July — when we get to that point where we're where we can take our masks off and have those closer social interactions that we used to have with people that we're close to whether that's family or friends," she said.
But not everyone is loving the idea.
B.C. Hug Day
While many people are eager to hug friends and family, they aren't entirely supportive of a provincial day of hugging. Many people said they were worried that encouraging physical closeness with people outside of your household could be a recipe for disaster after an unprecedented year.
Here are the results of our poll:
Photo via Photo via Vancouver Is AwesomeHere is what some locals had to say about "B.C. Hug Day" on social media.
Fuckin hug day fuck off
— Garth Mullins (@garthmullins) May 26, 2021
Me: I'm freaking out about the idea of people touching me again@BKergin: You could always get a face tattoo
— Courtney Dickson (@dicksoncourtney) May 25, 2021
dr. bonnie henry suggesting that we should have a bc hug day in front of john horgan who gave no response is the reason why we need girl bosses
— rx queen (@horsegrrrl) May 28, 2021
Same in BC. BC Hug Day on July 1st 😭😭😭😭. We might end up having our own variant
— Doaa M. (She/Her) (@doaalicious) May 27, 2021
BC Hug your Maybe Half-Vaxxed Neighbour Day. Nope, nothing could go wrong here.
— chantzy (@chantz_y) May 27, 2021
We need to get better at consent as a society first before there’s a BC Hug Day. And those of us with pre-existing mental health issues before covid are going to have covid ptsd for a long time. Don’t touch me. When are we going to get mental health support in this province?
— Vincent Viezzer (@VincentViezzer) May 27, 2021
@adriandix How does one register for BC Hug Day, and is there a prescribed interval between the first and second hugs?
— Dr. Matthew Chow, MD (@drmattchow) May 27, 2021
I'll be getting this before the 'back to normal" or' hug day' happens. It'll ride me right into a 2nd dose and fall variants. #nope pic.twitter.com/3eWRq9oeEt
— Tyna 'half-jabbed' McNair 💪 (@TynaMcNair) May 27, 2021
— AG Smith (@NvrRong) May 27, 2021
Our Minister of Health Bonnie Henry advocating for a provincial hug day after it's safe. She'd be the first one I'd love to hug. Thanks Bonnie.
— divining landscape (@LanceBelanger1) May 26, 2021
COVID-19: What does normal social contact mean? | Vancouver Sun https://t.co/jaXza4l6D3 via @YouTube
I absolutely will not be taking part in a BC Hug Day regardless of covid numbers that sounds like an absolute nightmare on a good day and a death sentence in the midst of a pandemic
— Jesse Inocalla 🍥 (@jinocalla) May 26, 2021
If Canada creates a national “Hug Your Neighbour Day” it will be interesting to see how many huggers vs non-huggers there are. Being that we’re so polite in Canada I’m presuming huggers outweigh the non-huggers 🤗 🇨🇦 pic.twitter.com/3IE1ALhZ7R
— John Hillier (@JohnMHillier) May 26, 2021
