Thanks for bringing this up. From your past posts you’re well attuned to the local retail landscape and can provide a unique perspective on an important topic.
Folks that have been following the forums know that I’ve been following Covid developments very closely and have been quite rigid in consistently encouraging readers to stay informed and to follow public health orders to keep our family, friends and community at large safe from the serious threat we face during this pandemic.
When it comes to the classifieds, a lot of local folks rely on the service for very necessary transactions even at the most serious of times and so shutting down is simply not a consideration. The marketplace has become a key central spot in the region for advertisements such as housing (rentals and sales), job postings, finding necessary service providers, and many types of product and merchandise that people have the right to choose where they purchase it from (new vs pre-owned) so long as they’re doing it within rules that are in place. With how integrated the service is not just with city life but rural life it would have serious unintended consequences to simply full-stop shut down as you’re suggesting.
As public health officials have said, we should be limiting our contacts and so I do strongly encourage the delaying of buying and selling that isn’t necessary but just as the rules relating to retail don’t outlaw the purchase of types of goods (the order relates to purchasing within a facility/store and the contacts that ensue as store traffic ramps up at this busy time of the year) I’m not going as far as assuming I know what’s necessary for any given person or assuming that they will not follow public health advice and so don’t intend to intervene other than to make sure people know the rules and to be prepared to act if I’m made aware of a clear case of someone that isn’t. If people are conducting a transaction they should be doing it within rules set by public health orders and for what it’s worth I haven’t received a single report of someone that hasn’t.
I do have trust that if the Province in their contact tracing efforts (Winnipeg, Steinbach, Brandon, etc) identify online classified services as an area of concern that they would issue appropriate guidance to the larger corporates that operate Winnipeg classifieds as well as some of the Manitoba-based businesses such as this one that offer the service in various communities. I’m very much respectful of public health’s striking a balance in the orders they issue and would be equally as respectful if they had reason to express concern about online classified dealings and updated guidance or orders as a result.
A personal anecdote to share that gives an idea of how I approach things right now myself. Just before the shift to Red I ordered an upgraded laptop for work (you wouldn’t believe how much faster I can put together daily Covid updates on this thing among other stuff of course!). Part of the rationale in that upgrade is the fact that my old one is worth about $500 that would help to cover the cost of the upgrade. With the change to Red and the delivery of the new laptop I’ve made the choice to sit on that previous laptop and not advertise it right now, temporarily being out a not-so-tiny sum of $500. I could have and might still choose to advertise it so that I can get that $500 as soon as possible but I would be telling any potential buyer that it won’t be available for pickup until Code Red has passed and would not be accepting any payments until that time. Depending on any given item, its value and the means that that item would be safely bought-sold others might make different assessments based on any given unique situation.
I have trust that folks are doing and will continue to do the right thing in terms of assessing what’s necessary to buy and sell at the moment and that if they choose to partake in a transaction that’s necessary within their life they’re doing it in a manner that’s consistent with public health orders. A reminder that that includes that “a person who resides in a private residence must not permit a person who does not normally reside in that residence to enter or remain in the residence,” with limited exceptions that include to provide necessary services as listed in the order as well as to deliver items.
If you do deem a transaction necessary enough for you to leave the home at this time to partake in, please ensure that you wear a mask, practice safe physical distancing, limit the amount of household members that are leaving the home with you, where possible make use of digital forms of payment, thoroughly wash hands before and after, ensure that items are thoroughly cleaned and if you or anyone in your household has any symptoms absolutely do not consider any kind of transaction.
I do continue to urge being informed on the present state of the provincial response to the pandemic, which includes being aware of the contents of the most recent public health order as published at:
https://manitoba.ca/asset_library/en/proactive/2020_2021/orders-soe-11222020.pdf