Anxiety, optimism at end of COVID measures

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This article was published 13/03/2022 (1331 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Two years after COVID-19 was first identified in the province, most of Manitoba’s pandemic restrictions are about to expire, raising both anxiety and cautious optimism about the future.

Beginning Tuesday, Manitobans will no longer be required to wear masks in most indoor public spaces, while those who test positive for COVID-19 won’t be forced to quarantine. The mask mandate will remain in some cases, including at health-care facilities.

The move comes after the province removed proof-of-vaccination requirements for public places on March 1, as well as vaccine and testing mandates for public sector employees, including education, child-care and health-care workers.

Dr. Philippe Lagacé-Wiens said he has mixed feelings about the removal of the mandates, but he’s hopeful.

“Honestly I’m feeling more optimistic now than I think I have in two years,” the University of Manitoba professor of medical microbiology and infectious diseases expert told the Free Press. “I am feeling like there’s reason to be removing some of these restrictions but I also am opposed to removing them cold turkey.”

That means looking at hospital admissions, rather than a date on the calendar, he said.

As of Friday, there were still 417 COVID-19 patients in hospital in Manitoba, 23 of them in intensive care. While still high, the numbers have gone down gradually over the last several weeks.

Lagacé-Wiens said the removal of the mask mandate should have been done gradually to protect Manitobans and lessen the burden on the health-care system.

“You might say (masks) should still be used in public transit, they should still be used when you’re visiting elderly or vulnerable people, they should still be used in crowded situations — Jets games, large gatherings — and maybe you don’t need to be going all out when you’re going to the grocery store anymore,” he said.

“So I think there was a middle ground that we could’ve implemented and watched for another couple of weeks and then if the trends were still favourable, then relieve a little bit more.”

Business leaders are cautious, too.

Loren Remillard, president and CEO of the Winnipeg Chamber of Commerce, said there’s a degree of uncertainty and anxiety among business owners.

“That is driven of course by, how will the public respond regardless of what decision (businesses) make, whether they maintain a mandate or whether they lift it completely,” Remillard said. “There’s definitely pros and cons that all businesses are weighing.

“Ultimately, what we’re hearing when we’re speaking with our members is they are taking a wait-and-see approach.”

That means the majority of public-facing businesses in Winnipeg, such as restaurants, theatres and gyms, will maintain a mask mandate for staff for at least a few weeks, Remillard said.

“Staff feel more comfortable,” he said. “There’s also a perception that by staff wearing masks it will make customers feel more comfortable.”

Remillard said many businesses are also highly recommending customers continue to wear masks. Some will maintain the mandate but don’t plan to aggressively enforce it, he said, out of fear of being subjected to combative behaviour from those who oppose pandemic measures.

“We have heard horror stories, speaking with some of our members, of staff going home crying, staff shaken, emotionally, from these encounters, so we implore all Manitobans, please just be respectful,” he said. “You’re entitled to your opinion, you’re entitled to how you feel, but make a choice by walking away or walking in.”

Still, there’s a degree of optimism among business owners who’ve been trapped by COVID-19 for two years.

“People are pleased to be able to be talking about a time when COVID isn’t the sole point of conversation — where we move to an era where we’re talking about customer service and dealing with some of the issues associated with COVID such as supply chain disruptions, inflation, dealing with those hard, fast business issues,” Remillard said.

Chuck Davidson, president and CEO of the Manitoba Chambers of Commerce, said businesses across the province are taking cautious steps forward.

A survey of Manitoba businesses showed about a third would continue to require masks in some form, adding he expects businesses to adapt as the public becomes more comfortable living with COVID-19.

“For the past two years, businesses have been under restrictions of some sort, whether it’s capacity restrictions or vaccine mandates or mask restrictions — that’s something they’ve been dealing with, so it’s not as simple as here’s an arbitrary date when everything stops that everyone’s comfortable enough to go down that path,” he said.

Manitoba Federation of Labour president Kevin Rebeck said employers have a responsibility to keep workers safe.

“We encourage employers to work with unions and workplace health and safety committees to ensure appropriate measures are in place to protect workers,” he said in a statement.

While some are positive about the removal of the mandates, others who are vulnerable to COVID-19 are wary.

Lindsay Wright, a 40-year-old mother with rheumatoid arthritis and other autoimmune disorders, said she’s “frustrated and disappointed” by the province’s move — one she thinks is political.

“Even as someone who’s higher risk, I understand that it’s time to loosen some of the restrictions, but it feels like we’re throwing away everything we learned,” said the Winnipegger.

Masks should remain, she said.

“… It’s an easy thing for most people to do,” she said. “I hear so much that I should wear a mask if I’m scared — I wish to God that’s how science worked and I didn’t need to care but masks work better when everybody wears them.”

Wright’s 13-year-old daughter is not yet eligible for a booster shot of the COVID-19 vaccine, something she wishes the province would allow: “I can’t believe we wouldn’t open up boosters to teenagers before we took away masks in school.”

“Learning to live with COVID doesn’t mean pretending it doesn’t exist, learning to live with COVID means using what we’ve learned,” Wright said.

erik.pindera@freepress.mb.ca

Twitter: @erik_pindera