Six months into a pandemic By: Michael Pereira Posted: 9:09 PM CDT Friday, Sep. 11, 2020 Last Modified: 9:36 AM CDT Tuesday, Sep. 15, 2020 Updates

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 10/09/2020 (1569 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

It’s been six months since the first COVID-19 case was recorded in Manitoba.

It’s been a roller-coaster ride — in July, the province was down to one active case — but now there are 287, after outbreaks in workplaces, Hutterite colonies and personal care homes throughout August.

The pandemic has disrupted the way Manitobans work, shop and play. Thousands of workers had to apply for the Canada Emergency Response Benefits to help make ends meet.

There have been 1,393 COVID cases in total, with 16 deaths, since March 12. For the first time as of Friday, Winnipeggers can now see how cases break down in their neighbourhoods.

At the start of May, when Manitoba had 281 cases, the province began the first of four phases of reopening the economy. In the two months that followed, daily new case reports were largely in the single digits. People across the province embraced the loosening of restrictions. The situation changed quickly around the start of phase four, and 815 new cases were reported in August. The school year began with 275 active cases. By that time, Manitoba had recorded 1,365 infections since March.

Within days of the first reported case of COVID-19 in Manitoba, the province declared a state of emergency and everyone that could was soon studying and working from home.

Smartphone location data show visits to workplaces dropped 30 per cent below the baseline established in January. Retail visits also suffered, though not to the same extent, as families took precautions and many designated a single shopper per household.

Parks and outdoor spaces provided much relief for the self-isolated including parents who were suddenly working from home while actively parenting and serving as surrogate teachers. The data shows a distinct pattern of weekend visits to parks through the end of the summer.

Pandemic-related restrictions had an immediate effect on Manitoba’s economy. The number of unemployed Manitobans began to skyrocket in March and peaked in April, with roughly 74,000 people out of work. The number of unemployed dropped throughout the spring and summer, but relief was uneven. While the number of unemployed men crept downward from April to July, the number of unemployed women aged 25 or older quickly rose to nearly 28,000 by August.

Although Premier Brian Pallister frequently chastised the federal government’s Canada Emergency Response Benefit program, the public didn’t hesitate to accept the much-needed support. By the end of August, 256,000 Manitobans had applied for CERB benefits. For many of them, it was necessary to avoid being kicked to the curb.

The initial wave of COVID-19 cases in Manitoba was mostly in Winnipeg. Beyond single cases and close-contact clusters, five of the six serious outbreaks in the province from March 12 to May 1 were in the city.

The situation changed quickly in mid-July as cases of COVID-19 hit communal living communities, including Hutterite colonies, and living quarters shared by workers at the Maple Leaf meat plant in Brandon. Prairie Mountain and Southern Health became regions of concern this summer as reported cases increased daily. With smaller populations, each new case ticked up the active case rate, and the effect on local health care facilities, to uncomfortable levels.

Nearly two months after the first case in a communal living community, the province deployed mobile testing to those areas. Days later, 98 new cases were reported in a single day. This record is nearly double the second-highest daily case count. It took place just over a week before September classes were to start.

Note: Header image depicts total cases per capita.