Small businesses brace for the worst

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This article was published 07/05/2021 (1231 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Since opening The Hive climbing gym in southwest Winnipeg last August, Kori Cuthbert has been forced to keep his brand new business shuttered for much of the past nine months.

Cuthbert celebrated the grand opening of the gym two months before a swell of COVID-19 cases put Manitoba into its first code-red lockdown. And since Jan. 23, when the provincial government slowly peeled back pandemic restrictions, Cuthbert was able to operate for another nine weeks.

On Saturday, as clients came in for one last indoor climbing session, that streak came to an end.

“By negligence, or not taking COVID restrictions seriously, it’s definitely hurting small businesses,” said Cuthbert, the managing partner of the fitness centre on Lorimer Boulevard.

“And ultimately we’re paying the bill for the shortcomings of people not following the restrictions and the pandemic getting out of hand. This definitely hits a lot harder on us. We lose our source of income and also the ability to keep the business sustainable throughout all of that.”

Manitoba’s top doctor Brent Roussin ordered on Friday a three-week closure of public-facing businesses — including gyms, museums, recreation centres, in-person dining and more — to curb escalating COVID-19 cases as critical-care units face increasing pressure.

The wide-ranging orders come into effect Sunday at 12:01 a.m. and also close churches, limit outdoor public gathering sizes to five, restrict retail to 10 per cent capacity, and shutter salons and barbers. The orders expire May 30.

The chief public health officer said his team is also reviewing whether schools should move to remote learning, with more information to be shared this week.

“To be honest, this is kind of what I was hoping for last week,” said Maria Anne Rawluk, founder of Drop In Dance Winnipeg. “As much as it sucks to not have my business open and be able to provide this outlet for people, I just want the province to do what’s right and keep everyone safe.

“This should have been done as soon as we saw the numbers ramping up.”

On Saturday, another 488 new COVID-19 cases were reported in Manitoba, including 389 in Winnipeg bringing the province’s total active case count to 3,237, nearly half of which were a more infectious variant.

Three more Manitobans died after coming down with the disease, including a Winnipeg woman in her 20s, a Winnipeg man in his 70s and a man in his 80s from the Prairie Mountain Health region.

After learning Friday that new public health orders were imminent, Rawluk decided to cancel classes on Saturday. She said the next three weeks will be a challenge for her and the studio’s instructors without additional support to cover expenses while the business is closed.

“Being open while watching the numbers soar was quite the moral dilemma for me,” Rawluk said. “I think the most important thing right now is that we just focus on culling this virus.”

In Winnipeg’s Exchange District, customers were taking advantage of the King’s Head patio for what would likely be their last opportunity this month.

Owner Chris Graves said there were tears Friday evening as he and his staff watched Roussin’s press conference inside the pub.

“We’ve done so many things right as a pub, yet we continue to suffer, and that’s the part that hurts me the most,” he said.

The pub owner — who has been a vocal critic of the province’s efforts to enforce self-isolation requirements for travellers — had to turn away a potential patron from California on Saturday.

“(The government) had zero control over the travel aspect. It’s unbelievable. Every day I turn away people that shouldn’t be in Manitoba,” Graves said. “We suffer because the government just did not have a handle on the travel side of it.”

Given the experience of the fall lockdown — which was billed to last four weeks but lasted 10 as the virus continued to spread unchecked — Graves said he is leery the latest restrictions will be able to be reversed in three weeks, though he remains optimistic about the summer.

The province’s COVID-19 vaccine task force has said all adult Manitobans will have their first dose of the vaccine, assuming 70 per cent uptake, by June 8.

“The government reacts very slowly, and they also don’t act in the right sectors, and that’s the problem,” Graves said. “Do I think it’s going to be just a three week shutdown? No, I think it’s going to be longer, and just thinking about it makes me sad because my first phone call was to my bank and they’re always the toughest conversations.

“I truly hope this is the last time we’re shut down.”

danielle.dasilva@freepress.mb.ca