Discussions

Manitoba recorded its highest daily number of new COVID-19 cases since December with 295 cases announced on Friday. There were 50 new cases in Prairie Mountain Health, also the highest single-day total since December. We are going in the wrong direction!!! So now is the time to follow the guidelines to prevent our cases getting higher. This means everyone including the selfish people who continue to disobey the orders and restrictions that have been placed upon us once again. These restrictions are in place for a reason and the households that are continuing to hold gatherings against these orders need to stop immediately and you know who you are . Please stop for the betterment of everyone else, especially those who are adhering to these new restrictions. The sooner we all do our part, the sooner we will end this pandemic. Also, when it’s your turn for the vaccine go and get it and please stop complaining about how the government is rolling it out. The vaccine rollout plan is the way it is for a reason and we need to trust the experts in this regard. So please do your part . Thanks.

Glad you made this point with a new post.  
With today’s update it’s now an increase of 40 in Brandon district cases over the past three days, 61 over the past week. Not clear what are related to focused testing in any identified cluster(s) and what are community spread, but the case disclosures by some businesses recently make it clear that it’s out there.  
 
Though I know of a lot of folks that have pulled up their socks, also unfortunately far too many stories circulating of extended visits over the weekend that would be in contradiction with the private residence rule.  
 
Dinsdale Park yesterday afternoon was about as packed with parked cars as I’ve seen in a long time. Won’t pretend to have gone over with a fine-toothed comb but from what I saw on that pass by at that moment it was quite a few smaller separate groups of less than ten sprinkled around the area with good distance in between. As I was going by, did note a Police cruiser that had just been past in the other direction!

This thread is not a mask debate. The rules, arrived at and signed off on by public health officials with max knowledge on the virus, how it spreads and how we can reduce that spread, are specific that:  
"A person who enters or remains in an indoor public place must wear a mask in a manner that covers their mouth, nose and chin without gapping."  
 
To ensure you're following the rules, you can review full mask guidance at:  
https://manitoba.ca/covid19/prs/index.html#guidance

You can review tickets issued by enforcement at the link below. For the most recent reporting period ending April 25, "Failure to wear mask" was the second-most ticketed offense following "Individual gathering size limits":
https://geoportal.gov.mb.ca/app/db843b9a691744058103be40facd8b74

Mentioned this in a post a couple weeks ago, but I've seen this period nationally referred to as the "darkness before the dawn." Totally understand the frustration, but this really looks like one last big push to account for how vulnerable we are to the variants while vaccines aren't yet deployed Widely enough. Been humming along in Manitoba at 0.5-1% more of the adult population vaccinated per day with more than 40% now covered. After three weeks of these newest orders you can bet your bottom dollar that number will be noticeably higher and closer to the number thats needed for herd immunity. All one has to do is look to South of the 49th where they’re a few weeks ahead of us in vaccines and are now showing some pretty great signs of having turned a corner.  
 
It’s easy to focus on cases of non-compliance, but this is a numbers game and I’m very confident that especially with the seriousness of these latest orders and the areas they address we will see the vast majority make (or be forced into) necessary changes that seriously cut back the number of contacts. Already I’ve been surprised to see way more people than I’ve expected going as far as wearing masks outdoors where It isn’t required but is recommended where distancing is a challenge. It’s those extra efforts that give a guy hope that the percentages can be bent in our favour. As disheartening as it might be to see people lined up for a table at an at-capacity local establishment tonight that will be forced to close in five hours, it's also an example of potential transmission vectors that will be closed off starting tomorrow because of the new rules (Not to mention we won't have to hear about any contradictions some  might see between patio rules and private property rules)  

For those that don’t follow the rules, Between being identified by active enforcement efforts or perhaps being the subject of tip-line reports one can hope that as many as possible are brought on-side to bring the percentages as in our favour as possible.  

These next few weeks won’t be easy. With how high cases are right now it’s highly likely ICU numbers will continue to rise but what we do right now in these days and weeks ahead could be what makes the difference between working within capacity and seeing difficult decisions made.  
 
Be safe, be well and know that there are a ton of us that are thankful you’re making the right decisions that you have within your own control to play your part in keeping our family and community as safe as possible!