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So who decides what’s essential? And who do we question when it doesn’t feel right? I will give one quick example, there will be plenty more I’m sure. Why can I go to a car wash? But not get acupuncture? I don’t have a dog in this fight it’s just a question. I see medical benefits from getting acupuncture but no health benefits from washing my car. Dont get me wrong I am not trying to get anything shutdown. I am more hoping they open everything back up. What’s happening now doesn’t seem to be working. Why not let the small businesses open and police themselves? I would think most small businesses would be more than happy to open and make people follow the rules in their businesses. Is it possible the lockdowns are making people more rebellious and not listen and do what they want? I could be totally off base here but just a suggestion. Nothing else is working

The restrictions are the responsibility of Manitoba’s Chief Provincial Public Health Officer Brent Roussin, who with a medical degree and law degree is I suspect as well positioned as anyone you’ll see to understand both the medical and policy/legal side of what’s taking place, to understand what measures will best limit the posibility of the worst-case outcome and what unfortunate consequences/tradeoffs we’re having to make in decisions being made in the interest of public health. There are balances to strike and they don’t always get it 100% right the first time and will sometimes tweak rules on feedback, as they did recently on the topics of gift cards and newspapers... but to demand a wide about-face in the overall approach thats in place to save lives isnt I suspect something that will get very far. 
 
Restrictions currently in place and the focus on trying to make sure as many people as possible stay home as much as possible are to seriously limit close contacts since it’s in large part the combination of an easily spreadable virus and higher numbers of contacts (in particular indoor) that leads to the ramping up of case numbers. The more case numbers rise the more our health care system pushes to a breaking point and the closer we get to a humanitarian disaster that nobody wants to see. Look up El Paso, Texas for a more recent example of what the virus is capable of doing. Same virus, it absolutely can happen here. Winter and the upcoming holiday season present a sort of worst-case scenario for both contacts and indoor gathering and so they are trying to prevent an already bad situation from getting catastrophic.  
 
You say that restrictions seem to not be working but don’t really support it with anything. The virus has an incubation period of up to 14 days (ie someone can catch it but take that long to show any symptoms). Then reported cases could trail reality by many days just based on how long it takes for one to get tested, how long it takes to get and then report the results. To judge right now seems like an exercise in either not yet understanding the virus and wider response, in confirmation bias or both. It was stated I believe yesterday that contact tracing investigations are showing a serious drop in the amount of contacts of late, which if it keeps up has a real possibility of flowing through to reduced virus spread in the days ahead.  
 
Concerns for small businesses are very real. So many are an unfortunate victim of the reality we find ourselves in. There’s definitely a school of thought out there that has suggested that more businesses should be allowed to open and to self police, but please understand that if this thread goes on long enough you will find someone to make a case for the opening of just about every individual business under the sun. If they don’t hold a fairly hard line on what can and can’t open we will have way too many reasons for people to go out and into situations that can increase contacts and potential spread.  
I do believe that it was an initial mistake to allow big boxes to sell everything under the sun while closing other smaller stores that sold the same stuff. That has been corrected and big boxes are now selling way less than I guarantee you they plan on being able to sell in their own business model.  
 
To be a proactive part of the solution, please support local businesses as much as possible with their curbside and delivery services. There’s a thread on these forums that goes through a lot of great options.  If you learn of any other options or have experiences of your own with some of the ones mentioned, please share!
 
I’d encourage you to read and learn more about this serious virus to expand your understanding on what we’re going through, why and how we can best be part of the response. A good place to start is the WHO website at https://www.who.int/emergencies/diseases/novel-coronavirus-2019/question-and-answers-hub/q-a-detail/coronavirus-disease-covid-19#:~:text=symptoms  
 
The Government of Canada at https://www.canada.ca/en/public-health/services/diseases/coronavirus-disease-covid-19.html  
 
And of course the Province at http://www.Manitoba.ca/COVID19  
 
I’d strongly urge against building an understanding around viral social media posts and videos. A very sad side effect if the pandemic has been some folks seeding false narratives as it pertains to the virus, taking advantage of how vulnerable some are to being told that there are short-cuts back to normal. Sometimes these false narratives seem on the surface like something you’d want to believe but when one has their BS detector on and a realistic understanding of what the virus is they won’t allow themselves to be compromised by that stuff.  Also not saying this is you but this paragraph belongs in a thread where we're its important to ensure separation between fact and fiction as well as between being a constructive part of the response and one who is following a path that could make it worse. 
 
I know these are tough times that have caused a lot of change and even tragedy for so many people but with the very real possibility of multiple available vaccines in the months ahead there’s a very real path to the end of the tunnel. We need to have a level of trust in measures in place and reasons for them and to know that they’re most effective when as many folks as possible buy in.  
 
Be well!!

Just when you thought the book of mine a few posts up was a one volume series ....  
 
I haven’t been in a ton of places since this all started but personally haven't once run into an empty sanitizer dispenser at a business. I agree if there’s a place that’s had empty sanitizer three straight times it’s a concern and hopefully it gets addressed. I guess I’d be curious what action you took after already seeing it twice before you went a third time?  
 
One can try to pick apart individual rule choices until they’re blue in the face, or they can recognize the severity of the situation, that we have qualified pros making best possible decisions as part of a wider plan to save lives and ask how they can be part of the solution. The difference between El Paso and an area not having to build out new morgue space is going to in many ways come down to how many people understand and follow rules and recommendations and not get bogged down in misinfo, fighting and thinking they know better than the medical pros guiding the response. That doesn’t mean to not make rational, thoughtful suggestions on changes through the reach-out opportunities that the province puts on or to your representation... but know that any given person’s suggestions could be at odds with wider measures that have to be in case to limit contacts and spread of the virus.  
 
Please stay home as much as possible except for essential reasons.  
 
Follow rules on interaction with same household within exceptions noted in the public health order (you can read the order at https://manitoba.ca/covid19/restartmb/prs/orders/index.html )
 
If you do have an essential reason to go out, have as few members of the household as possible accompanying you, wear a mask, follow physical distancing guidelines and limit contacts as much as possible.  
 
If you are making a purchase, use curbside or local delivery wherever possible... even for essentials.  

Don’t fall for the faulty reasoning that this is a Steinbach or Winnipeg problem. Same easily transmitted virus. Brandon over the past two days adjusted for population isn't far from being in the same range as Winnipeg for new cases.  The smaller the city the more one or two clusters or outbreaks can effect averages, but the virus is very much in this city.  

This is not an easy time for so many people. Attitudes and behaviours are contagious on both the compliance and non-compliance side. Be the person in your family and social circles that best sets the example and we'll all have the best chance of pulling through this together!  
  

Just to speak a little to the original question of “who decides?”  
 
This is Alberta (thankfully), but the link below gives a window into the tug of war that can take place between politicians and civil servants on the response in a province. My sense is that Dr. Roussin’s expertise is a larger part of the decision-making process here (thankfully) than his Alberta counterpart, who the article gives the impression is often superseded by politicians. Alberta’s response has of course received a lot of criticism for being underwhelming, having yesterday at their growth curve become the Canadian province with the most active cases (though on a per 100k population basis they are still a ways behind us at the moment). Direct apples-to-apples comparisons can be tough be here’s hoping for folks there that their decision-makers are prepared to go further if their growth rate continues:  
https://www.cbc.ca/amp/1.5814877

As far as our restrictions, another sign that they've been starting to have some effect:  

Roussin says even with our restrictions numbers are at a level we cannot sustain. He says projections from a few weeks ago when restrictions started -- it was calling for 800 cases a day by Nov 22

— Brittany Greenslade (@BrittAtGlobal) November 25, 2020

Roussin says it shows that we are seeing some benefit from restrictions because we aren't seeing the climb to that number. But says numbers are still too high

— Brittany Greenslade (@BrittAtGlobal) November 25, 2020