With pandemic restrictions set to end, some Manitoba businesses say they have tough decisions to make

As Manitoba prepares to get rid of all pandemic restrictions in the coming weeks, some businesses and venues say they're not sure they feel ready to part with mask and vaccine requirements just yet.

Shauna Ellerby says she lost close to half of her clientele at Yoga Centre Winnipeg since the pandemic began.

She says she and her staff have put a lot of effort into making sure those who kept coming feel safe and comfortable, by capping class sizes and requiring masks for unvaccinated students even before vaccine mandates were the law of the land.

When there are no provincial restrictions to adhere to, she's not sure what direction she'll take.

"It's a really hard decision, what do you do? It just all feels very uncertain and hard to know how to make those choices."

Businesses split

A recent survey of the Manitoba chapter of the Canadian Federation of Independent Business found small businesses who responded were split on whether they wanted to keep mask and vaccine mandates in place, said Kathleen Cook, provincial affairs director for the organization's Manitoba and North divisions.

Among Manitoba small businesses, 56 percent of those who responded said they supported eliminating mask requirements, while 61 percent supported eliminating proof of vaccination requirements, Cook said.

WATCH | Some businesses not ready to part with mask, vaccine mandates:

Small business owners split on ending mask, vaccine mandates

3 years ago

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As Manitoba prepares to get rid of all pandemic restrictions in the coming weeks, some businesses and venues say they're not sure they feel ready to part with mask and vaccine requirements just yet.

Cook said that earlier in the pandemic, businesses were willing to take on the additional staffing and technology associated with vaccine mandates if it meant they could avoid closing again.

"If you compare being shut down to scanning vaccine QR codes, I think most business owners will take the QR codes every time," she said.

"But we're starting to see a growing number of businesses say, 'No, it's time to be done with these. We're ready to move on.'"

Mask requirements, on the other hand, are less onerous to enforce, Cook said.

At Charisma of India, owner Mitesh Trivedisaid he personally will continue to wear a mask while at work, but doesn't think his customers should have to unless they want to.

"People should take charge themselves and they should protect themselves."

Cautious approach

The Royal Manitoba Theatre Centre emailed a survey to ticket holders earlier this week, asking what they thought about keeping restrictions in place.

Executive Director Camilla Holland said she expects they'll take a cautious approach to lifting restrictions, since they have to keep their performers, crew and staff safe pointing out that they've had to cancel shows in the past due to cases of COVID-19.

"So we have to keep our artists safe through this transition period because if an artist does get sick, we want to make sure that they're not transmitting that illness around the room, where we would then lose five days of rehearsal or five days of performance," she said.

More details will be released by the end of the week so that audience members will have a clear idea of what to expect going forward, she said.

The Massage Therapy Association of Manitoba is still finalizing its guidelines for its members, but it will ultimately be up to individual businesses whether they want to keep requiring clients to wear masks during treatments, said executive director Tricia Weidenbacher.

Still, Weidenbacher said she doesn't think masks are going to be disappearing from massage therapy offices anywhere anytime soon, given the close proximity of therapists' work to their clients.

In addition, massage therapy has been treated like any other health service under the province's public health orders, so you don't need to be vaccinated to get one, Weidenbacher explained. That adds another reason massage therapists might want extra protection, she said.

"I don't think there's any rush to drop the use of all masks in this situation. We've got a particular work environment and it makes sense to wear a mask," she said.

"And so I think the RMTs [Registered Massage Therapists] should be able to continue wearing them as they see fit and asking their clients to also wear masks in appropriate circumstances."

Recommendation vs requirement

Asked Wednesday why the province was getting rid of the mask mandates at all, chief public health officer Dr. Brent Roussin said they're still recommending wearing masks in high-risk settings, or if you feel like you need extra protection.

It just won't be a requirement anymore, he said.

"There's many public health recommendations that significantly benefit individuals' health and lower their risk of numerous illnesses, they're just not mandated under a public health order," he said.

"This is something we've had to do in extreme circumstances for the better part of two years."