COVID-19 Manitoba

[esquire]

^ Thanks, that provides a bit of helpful context. It seemed like our numbers were understated relative to what I'd expect, but when you look at it relative to some other provinces Manitoba doesn't stand out.

Anyway, I had to go downtown today and it was interesting driving around. The city is clearly not dead, but traffic and overall activity levels are noticeably low. It feels like one of those stat holidays where most things are closed, like Good Friday. But I guess the effects are less pronounced here since it's not like we have pedestrian streets that are normally crammed with people and that kind of thing.

[drew]

^ walking to work these days is what it would feel like if I walked on an early Sunday morning.

There is traffic, but not a lot, and most of the time you don't need to wait for the lights to change to cross streets. It's kind of relaxing really - but also a time when people who are homeless or similar outnumber the general working types walking around.

[esquire]

^ Yes, good point. The groups of homeless and other street people are definitely more prominent on the sidewalks, at least as you get closer to the centre of the city.

There is still more traffic and more people out and about than I'd have necessarily expected to see, though.

[esquire]

Originally Posted by OTA in Winnipeg

There are two. The old highway out of Westhawk still in operation.

Does that road to Ingolf (which is the one I presume you're talking about) actually connect to the Ontario highway system, or does it just dead end once it reaches the end of town?

[drew]

Originally Posted by esquire

^ Yes, good point. The groups of homeless and other street people are definitely more prominent on the sidewalks, at least as you get closer to the centre of the city.

There is still more traffic and more people out and about than I'd have necessarily expected to see, though.

From my experiences in walking in and out of downtown daily the past 4 years or so - it is DEAD right now. At least from the street level vantage.

The Tim Hortons at Portage and Vaughn that always has a snaking line up to the doors is empty (but still open for business). That's a pretty good indicator on its own.

[YWG-RO]

MB at 36, Canada at 4000, 39 deaths.
US surpassed China at 82,000 cases.
Next week will be very rough in the US.
Pallister discussing MB economic impact; $ billions.

[bomberjet]

Manitoba has its first covid death tonight. Woman in her 60's. Shes an in law to my extended family.

[Dengler Avenue]

Originally Posted by bomberjet

Manitoba has its first covid death tonight. Woman in her 60's. Shes an in law to my extended family.

This feels personal for me too...

[bomberjet]

From what I hear it was brought back to MB from a BC conference from her employer.. Then spread to her.

[rrskylar]

Originally Posted by bomberjet

Manitoba has its first covid death tonight. Woman in her 60's. Shes an in law to my extended family.

Very sad news, condolences.

Watching the supper hour news and I see a store manager in Morris livid about returning snowbirds stopping in his store, these fuckers that clueless or is no one from border services telling them to self quarantine for 14 days!

All we need in Manitoba is more “spreaders”

[bomberjet]

Thanks. I dont think I've ever met her. It's my uncle's wife sister husband sister. So my aunts brother in laws sister.

[esquire]

Originally Posted by rrskylar

Very sad news, condolences.

Watching the supper hour news and I see a store manager in Morris livid about returning snowbirds stopping in his store, these fuckers that clueless or is no one from border services telling them to self quarantine for 14 days!

All we need in Manitoba is more “spreaders”

That is one huge lesson learned from this incident. You can bet that the next time we get an outbreak of any kind of significance, the hammer is going to come down on travellers right away. The mindset is going to shift from the current "I come and go when and where I please" to "I come and go when and where I'm told I can go". It may sound draconian, but in hindsight, this massive war-like loss of human lives and dollars could have been mitigated by putting strict travel controls in place early on. Next time around I could see the keys of the snowbirds being seized at Emerson while they go straight into quarantine, for example.

I'm not saying that to blame anyone, I think the scale and magnitude of this exploded quickly beyond what any government around the world would have expected based on past experience... in the same way that 9/11 was a huge mindshift in terms of travel security, covid-19 will result in a huge mindshift in terms of the public health impact of travel, which is why I call it a lesson learned.

[drew]

What is mind blowing to me is the fact that IIRC Canada absorbed back into the country almost a million expats and people who were travelling abroad.

This means that our actual population grew by ~3% over this past month or so. Nuts.

[OTA in Winnipeg]

Originally Posted by esquire

Does that road to Ingolf (which is the one I presume you're talking about) actually connect to the Ontario highway system, or does it just dead end once it reaches the end of town?

I think it used to somewhere in Ontario many years ago. You can see remnants of the old highway still to the north of the existing highway. Now you would have to access Highway 1 at Westhawk. Heading west though, the old highway still goes all the way to Winnipeg. You approach Winnipeg through McPhillips St. IIRC.

[rrskylar]

Originally Posted by drew

What is mind blowing to me is the fact that IIRC Canada absorbed back into the country almost a million expats and people who were travelling abroad.

This means that our actual population grew by ~3% over this past month or so. Nuts.

Ideally all foreign travellers should have/ should be tested, travellers themselves have said this and many are shocked at the lack of questioning they received at airports upon their return!

Even Canada’s chief public health officer Theresa Tam dropped the ball going as far as brush off and dismiss the real virus threat to Canada just two months ago!

[drew]

^ that's not what I was getting at. But ok. Lock up those snowbirds!

My point was that Canada's physical population is as close to our actual population in real terms as its probably ever been, if you get what I am trying to throw down.

[drew]

Originally Posted by rrskylar

Ideally all foreign travellers should have/ should be tested, travellers themselves have said this and many are shocked at the lack of questioning they received at airports upon their return!

Even Canada’s chief public health officer Theresa Tam dropped the ball going as far as brush off and dismiss the real virus threat to Canada just two months ago!

And she would have known better at that time because...

Two months ago was January 27th. The difference between then and even a few short weeks ago is beyond compare. Nobody was prepared for this, except perhaps Taiwan from what I have read.

That will change the next time around. Live and learn.

[rrskylar]

Originally Posted by drew

And she would have known better at that time because...

Two months ago was January 27th. The difference between then and even a few short weeks ago is beyond compare. Nobody was prepared for this, except perhaps Taiwan from what I have read.

That will change the next time around. Live and learn.

No, actually the WHO had predicted this all along as did various scientists throughout the world, pretty tough to contain anything nowadays especially when dealing with a country where the virus originated that isn’t forthright!

[Jammon]

Originally Posted by rrskylar

No, actually the WHO had predicted this all along as did various scientists throughout the world, pretty tough to contain anything nowadays especially when dealing with a country where the virus originated that isn’t forthright!

Thank you. I totally agree. I work in this field and one of my close friends is a virologist and he has agreed this could have been way more contained had China been honest all along. I hope that the result of this may shift some of the economic and political world powers as we have really seen which countries have true leadership and those that do not. But yes, I'm saying it now- I absolutely blame the Chinese government for putting the entire world at risk.

[rrskylar]

Originally Posted by Jammon

Thank you. I totally agree. I work in this field and one of my close friends is a virologist and he has agreed this could have been way more contained had China been honest all along. I hope that the result of this may shift some of the economic and political world powers as we have really seen which countries have true leadership and those that do not. But yes, I'm saying it now- I absolutely blame the Chinese government for putting the entire world at risk.