Discussions

As most folks will be aware, we are now reduced to Orange/Restricted status on the province's Pandemic Response system as part of reaching the first step in the province's Re-opening path. In following the lead of ongoing health orders, for the past several months under Critical/Red status I've been advising to only participate in essential buying and selling.  
 
With the change to orange I’m no longer going quite that far, changing messaging to reflect continuing to respect the ongoing threat from Covid and continuing to encourage the habits we know all too well as far as distancing, cleanliness, masking, not participating in transaction when you or someone in your household is symptomatic and limiting the amount of people that need to be involved in exchanges to what’s necessary. Please also keep in mind that current health orders do permit limited visitors outdoors to a property or in public spaces but not indoors except in very limited circumstances.  
 
In line with those reduced restrictions, already recently we’re seeing in numbers some of the more traditional activity that would in a normal year be associated with earlier Spring activity in the classifieds as folks make use of the service in areas it’s been relied on for the past 16+ years in Southwestern Manitoba.  Not just here but with the overall reduction in restrictions but in the community at large I'm sure it goes without saying to please continue to respect what this virus is capable of... both in current and potential future variants. Stats have shown a handful of local cases in recent days and nobody wants to see that turn into something more. Under code Orange/restricted the province remains under a state of emergency and we continue to be advised that ongoing wider deployment of vaccines combined with adherence to most current public health orders is our best path to a new normal and to avoid relapses.  
 
Thanks to those who have done and continue to do their part to keep our corner of the province as safe as possible during this public health crisis. Please continue to monitor ongoing updates from the province and act according to ongoing status, orders and recommendations.  
 
More on that ongoing response can be read at:  
https://manitoba.ca/covid19/index.html