WINNIPEG - The president of Manitoba’s Chambers of Commerce says, while organizations would rather have no COVID-19 restrictions, they’re calling on Manitobans to be respectful toward business owners and workers as they follow the province’s new public health orders.
Chuck Davidson says cases of people lashing out at businesses for following public health orders are becoming more common. “There’s a certain level of frustration, I think, with these new health orders going in place, having to be double vaccinated, it’s going to cause a little bit more challenges,” he says. But Davidson says the frustration is misplaced when it’s taken out on staff.
“Make no mistake, the business community would obviously prefer to have no restrictions in place,” Davidson acknowledges. “These restrictions are made by the provincial government and public health officials, not by the server or the hostess at your local restaurant. But unfortunately, they’ve been forced to take the brunt of it.”
Davidson says by taking the advice of health professionals, Manitobans can limit both the economic and emotional impact of a growing fourth wave of the pandemic. "These actions mean that businesses can remain open. People can remain employed," Davidson says.
Manitoba added 36 new cases of COVID-19 on Thursday. 24 of those cases were in people who weren’t fully vaccinated against the virus. Deputy Chief Public Health Officer Dr. Jazz Atwal says, among recent cases of people admitted to hospitals due to COVID-19, 73 per cent hadn't been vaccinated against the virus at all, and 2.6 per cent had been fully vaccinated, as the Delta variant continues to spread. Provincial data suggests vaccination significantly reduces the chances of requiring ICU care or being placed on a ventilator.
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