Personal decisions will define next steps
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Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 06/05/2020 (1597 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.
“It’s up to you.”
It’s impossible to quantify the number of times each of us has heard this phrase, from parents, teachers, siblings, friends, coaches, mentors, business associates, salespeople or even complete strangers.
Most times, it’s extended as a courtesy, offering the opportunity to choose — what to pick from the restaurant menu, where to meet for after-work drinks, which movie to see, where to go on a long-awaited winter vacation.
Other times, however, it carries a sense of foreboding, reminding that the next action taken could have immediate and perhaps profound consequences — for personal health, for financial well-being, for future employment or for the long-term survival of a relationship.
As Manitoba lurches into its hastily dispatched plan to relax COVID-19-related restrictions, the notion that “It’s up to you” has never carried more urgency. Everyone in this province has a personal stake in making sure Manitoba’s relatively positive COVID-19 profile is not upended by a sudden spike in cases brought on by a rush back to “normal” public behaviour.
Outdoor patios are now open. Playgrounds are open. Golf courses and tennis courts. Shopping malls and retail outlets. Hair salons and massage therapy clinics. Museums and galleries. Campgrounds.
What these things have in common is the opportunity for people to gather in relatively close quarters — something the province’s health-care experts have been advising us, in the strongest possible terms, to avoid completely for nearly two months.
The calculation here, by a provincial government dead-set on limiting the financial damage caused by the pandemic, is that reopening the economy in a manner that will get Manitobans working, moving and spending can be accomplished without unflattening the curve that has made the coronavirus’s unwelcome incursion a so-far manageable health emergency.
But the messaging related to Phase 1 of the “Restoring Safe Services” plan has been decidedly mixed, and the reopening blueprint appears to have been created with only the most cursory of consultation with the industries now being “allowed” to resume operating.
Business sector struggles with speed of Manitoba plan
Posted:
The Pallister government's plan to restart the Manitoba economy appears to have involved little consultation with the business sector, which is now left confused and scrambling to reopen doors as early as Monday.
“It was kind of a broadside, with little to no communication with the government,” was how the head of the Manitoba Restaurant and Food Services Association responded to last week’s unveiling of the rules-relaxing roadmap. “I find it very disheartening. We would’ve liked to consult on how this happens.”
As the first week of Manitoba’s trudge toward normalcy continues, Phase 1’s nominated businesses are trying to figure out how the new rules apply. For individual Manitobans, the challenge ahead lacks the financial stakes being considered by reopened enterprises, but there could still be a steep price to pay if we get this wrong.
The virus lurks. Having flattened the curve doesn’t mean Manitobans have outlasted it, or successfully avoided it, or in any way pre-empted the inevitable second wave of infection that will soon make its way around the globe.
We are still very much in the midst of a pandemic. And despite the mixed messages attached to Manitoba’s reopening, what’s clear is that behaving as if things have returned to what they were eight weeks ago would be a massive miscalculation.
Physically distance. Wash your hands. Cover your face. Stay home if you are experiencing symptoms.
Don’t stop doing these things just because a patio is open on a sunny day or a long-overdue haircut beckons. A politician may have told you such things are allowed, but a physician would surely counter that they should be undertaken only with extreme caution.
What happens next is up to all of us.
