Locals express ‘relief’ as mask mandate ends

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This article was published 15/03/2022 (1644 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Public health orders designed to stop the spread of COVID-19 that have been in place on and off for the last two years came to an end Tuesday, with the last of the mandates being lifted.

As a result, masks are no longer required for most indoor settings, including schools and child-care facilities.

The news was met with mixed feelings in Brandon, but there was a sense of relief among many that they would no longer have to mask up.

The atmosphere in Shoppers Mall was relaxed with a mix of masked and unmasked people, shopping and eating in the food court. Businesses have been left to decide if they want to continue in-store measures like masking and barriers.

When head office told the Stokes kitchen supply store in Brandon they could take down their barriers and remove masks if they wanted, manager Delayne Nieradka and assistant manager Miranda Sharp said they were more than happy to remove them.

“It’s a relief for us that we no longer have to yell over the masks and barriers,” Nieradka said in an interview. “When we ask for their email and other questions, we had to repeat ourselves and often we just had them write down their information.”

Sharp added there was a lot of miscommunication and sometimes frustration between customers and themselves. Many of them are elderly or hard of hearing, so having their voices muffled by masks made their jobs harder.

Despite that, she said she believes masks did help slow the spread of COVID, and she isn’t throwing her face coverings out just yet.

“I brought one with me to work just in case. I respect that people may want to keep wearing them if they feel safer, or they are vulnerable to sickness,” she said.

Meanwhile, Kari Tannas and Jacquie Walder were enjoying their first maskless shopping trip in nearly two years.

“We also both had COVID and at this point, we feel masking isn’t necessary for us,” Tannas said.

Both Tannas and Walder have school-age children, for whom masks are no longer required in schools. They said their kids were more excited about going to school maskless today than they were for the first day of school.

That sentiment was matched by Brandon resident Samantha Giberson, who said in an email she is very excited to see her daughter, Paislee, dance at recitals, perform in gymnastics, celebrate her birthday and attend other events without restrictions.

“So much has been taken away from her, and I can’t wait to finally make up for all those lost memories,” Giberson said. “I want to see her smile. I just can’t wait for her to have a normal life; with no COVID tests, no masks, no fears of getting sick, no more activities being constantly cancelled, never mind having to miss her first-ever dance recital because no audience was allowed. I have so much hope for her to finally have a normal life.”

On the other hand, some people are still taking a more cautious approach. Charlotte Potyondy, who was wearing a mask while shopping, said she is going to keep doing so for at least a few more weeks just to see how things unfold.

Masks are still going to be needed in clinical settings and doctor’s offices to protect the health of patients and health-care staff, Doctors Manitoba president Dr. Kristjan Thompson said last week. COVID-19 is still circulating, he said, and waiting rooms and doctor’s offices can be crowded with people with various health conditions, making it a high-risk setting for transmission.

Specific precautions may vary based on the clinical environment, but generally, they include requiring patients and visitors to screen and report COVID-19 symptoms before entering, continuing the use of personal protective equipment by physicians and staff offering virtual visits as an option for some medical issues.

The province has also said there will no longer be individual case investigations for COVID-19, and Manitoba will no longer generate key codes for the federal COVID Alert app. People who test positive for COVID no longer need to self-isolate, but if a person is showing symptoms, it is recommended that they self-isolate for five days.

» kmckinley@brandonsun.com

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