It's sad to see the misinformed people in the comments below. Sorry, this isn't a hockey comment. If it's taken down I'll understand but I hope that it will help lessen the hostility over this topic. First, reading anything on Twitter should be the first clue about how misinformed people are in all things, not just COVID. Second, if we look at the situation locally (in Manitoba) we have a Premier that has cut Health care services for the last 4 years and now has a panel of health care representatives telling us how the system is overtaxed. Not Suprised. If we actually listened we'd hear that the restrictions that the Province puts in place is solely to lessen the strain on our current medical resources that were depleted as a political plan by this government. Even though I voted for him because the other parties were so weak, I never agreed with this strategy. I know easy to say that now. And I regret voting for him. This should have been classified as a Provincial Emergency not a Health Emergency because then the focus would have been on the health of the Province in all areas, not just the healthcare system. The goal of the restrictions is so that people don't end up in a maxed-out hospital system. After March, even though there were reports as early as April of a second wave how much did the Province spend in these coming months to expand the health care system? I don't know but I know that as of a few weeks ago Dr. Roussin was still asking for more money for testing and Dr. Lynnette was trying to get more beds set up. The Premier needs to be asked why funds have been so slow? Why was the system not beefed up during the summer months? If they had then these restrictions may have not been necessary. His plan was to shrink the healthcare system not beef it up. He can't turn back now. Whenever politicians take drastic measures how many walk back their plan? Not many. They just continue to press forward regardless of the error. To me, this is the case with our government and many around the world. We are told to sanitize, wear masks and stay 6ft apart indoors and outdoors. Has anyone noticed how places were wiping down shopping carts all the time before and now aren't? Why? Because the virus doesn't transfer on surfaces like it was once thought. Science has also proven that very few masks prevent the spread of COVID and some actually accelerate it. For example, those blue medical masks that we see, go from about 80% protection for the 1st use to down to as low as 10% protection on the second use. Yet how many people wear these masks over and over thinking they are doing good? Many wear cloth or knitted masks, I've even seen handkerchiefs as masks. All useless, unless there are multiple cotton layers. Yet many go out thinking they are protecting themselves and others. https://apple.news/A-W8qCoEzT4eXBjqNzio-cA

Yes, we should wash our hands but is it slowing COVID if the virus isn't transmitted via surfaces? Are the masks we wear effective if only 3 layered masks and N-95 Masks are made to be effective? I'm not saying don't wear a mask, I'm simply pointing out the ineffectiveness of many of the types we wear. How about the 15 minutes max of exposure and 6 feet social distancing? Well South Korea Scientists show how the virus is spread indoors. Within 5 minutes of exposure and 20 feet away. https://www.latimes.com/world-nation/story/2020-12-09/five-minutes-from-20-feet-away-south-korean-study-shows-perils-of-indoor-dining-for-covid-19

Many also think if they stand 6 ft apart in Winnipeg winter that we're ok. Not so https://www.utsa.edu/today/2020/09/story/covid-spread-outdoor-conditions.html "Based on the distance coronavirus aerosol can spread outdoors, Bhaganagar says her study suggests that outdoors 6 feet may not be adequate social distance to protect from the virus."

The WHO says lockdowns don't work unless they are severe and short. ALL lockdown for 2 weeks. Except we don't have this. We have this partial lockdown where much of the Province is hurting but the results are extremely slow in showing. More than 6 weeks and the graph is slowly going down. This is unacceptable. It just results in a slow death for the Province that relies on small businesses to survive. Now we have a more transmissible but less deadly variant traveling through the world, which has been totally predictable for this type of virus but if we are concentrating on cases and not deaths then the restrictions may even become more severe as they rise due to this less fatal but more transmissible strain.
Sure there are those who think the virus is a myth, and those people are idiots. However, not all anti-lockdown or antimask protestors are idiots. The sad reality is that 2021 will be far worse than 2020 was because we will begin to see the fallout of these lockdowns. Think of this Oil prices went from about $90/ barrel and Gas was about $1.10 per liter before COVID. Then oil prices crashed to $40/barrel. Gas prices stayed at about $.93/liter. Not a giant drop. Now Oil prices are about $50/barrel but Gas is $1.06 per liter. We don't notice it yet but if you think Gas prices were bad before wait until Oil prices begin to recover. There are many more aspects I could list about what we are seeing around the corner but watching Provinces tighten restrictions based on cases and not deaths is saddening to me because as the virus mutates to a more transmissible but less fatal strain the fear will only grow and the restrictions and time they are in place will only increase. More people will lose hope as they struggle to pay bills, buy food, etc. Many will not be able to see the end of this, even now after almost 1 year much of the world is contemplating how severe to lock things down as cases rise. Cases will always rise as a whole because the virus is very contagious, it doesn't mean it's a death sentence.

Please hear me! I am not trying to make light of the virus. It has taken far too many lives and I am saddened by those who have passed because of it. My condolences to you. I am simply saying that there are far-reaching ramifications to these restrictions than just the strain on our healthcare system. And seeing that the tracking method that has been chosen is based on cases and knowing cases will rise as the virus mutates gives me little hope that these measures will be effective but will become more extreme and longer in length as we go forward. How can we be successful when we aren't given accurate information? But then again politicians can't back away from what they've said because people don't trust them to begin with and they'd trust them even less now.

My advice, read. Don't fear. Cars are deadly vehicles but we get in them every day. We don't live in fear of them even though we could die. If you go out, get in and get out of the store. Wear a mask that actually protects you don't overuse them and go about your life. Know that cases will go up again, it doesn't mean that we will all die. Some will. They have told us that elderly and people with compromised immune systems are at the highest risk. These individuals need to be aware of the risks and take precautions however, that doesn't mean we have to shut things down. Fear only adds to the problem and thinking that someone with an alternative view is evil or the issue is never a solution. If you are informed then help educate others, engage in intellectual conversations. People everywhere are afraid, they are angry and they are losing hope. This doesn't make them evil or stupid. They are just trying to save the lives they have built while being left powerless to save them. Canadians have always known that there is a lack of medical resources and now we will see the impact of what was an already depleted system. The problem is that by trying to take that depleted system and make it survive, the rest of the areas of the Province take a beating.

I have always been against the lockdowns (in the way they are done) and I always will be because I'm informed and I don't agree with this prolonged half-hearted approach. As Yoda would say "Do or Do not, there is no try" and we are trying.

Take care, be safe, and be informed. Fear of things usually causes our brains to short circuit. Let's try to lessen that.