Looking at the lockdown: Absurdity, tragedy and the discovery of silver linings

It was supposed to last between two and four weeksan emergency circuit-breaker, they called it, to disrupt the surging current of COVID-19 cases.

Now,10 weeks later, Manitobans are justbeginning to see a sliver of light through the code red rampart the strictest lockdown of the nearly year-long pandemic.

That's more than two months of spiraling anxiety, failed businesses, job losses, postponed surgeries, and deaths of loved ones whose families could not be at their side due to some of the most stringent restrictions in the country.

It was also two months ofrulesthat often left people confused and resulted insometimes absurd applications at stores, withquestionabledistinctions between essential and non-essential items.

Newspapers weren't deemed essential at first,nor were Christmas-themed goods, even though holiday season planning was in full swing.

Air fresheners for houses were OK, but not for cars.

But there was also another side: the emergence of creativity and ingenuity.

With travel not recommended, and prohibitions on spending timewith friends inside their homes orfavouriterestaurants, Manitobans instead embraced the outdoors and made the best of the situation.

Large holiday dinners were replaced with meals delivered to family members, or virtual gatherings.

Skating trails, mazes, homemade hockey rinks,curling sheets, and even ice-climbingwalls showedup in backyards and along frozen rivers and retention ponds.

WATCH| Hazel Borys gives a tour of her maze on the Assiniboine River:

Take a tour of Winnipeg's volunteer-made snow maze

4 years ago

Duration 2:17

Hazel Borys and some friends built the Serpentine Maze on the Assiniboine River to help Winnipeggers get outside and safely connect during the pandemic.

The desire to get out, in the absence of getting away,led to soaringsales of gear such as cross-country skis, skates and even snowshoes.

Manitobanshave adapted, says a clinical psychologist with Shared Health and assistant professor at the University of Manitoba.

"I think the first thing to realize and to think about in this pandemic, or following this pandemicresilience will be the norm and not the exception," Dr. Rene El-Gabalawy said.

In some cases, peopleeven found things to be positive about.

El-Gabalawyled aresearch group,right before the holidays,looking at how people respondedemotionally to COVID-19. Manyacknowledged a renewed value ontime spent with family and friends, and their ownwell-being.

"People talked aboutrealizing what really matters to them [and] having a pretty significant perspective shift because of these dramatic changes that have taken place," shesaid.

That's not to say people weren't stressed. There's no question they were, she added.

"There werehigher rates of isolation people are disconnected from their families and many found this particularly hard over the holidays," El-Gabalawysaid.

"There were a number of businesses that were, and continue to be, compromised. Sopeople are suffering financially."

That was aggravated by the multiple extensions to the health orders,as people hoped foran end,only to have it pushed further off.

"That can most definitely exacerbate both stress and anxiety andthe depressive features as well,"El-Gabalawysaid.

"I think that that the way people coped over the last couple of months, and the things they did while they were within code red, will largely relate to where their mental health is at right now."

Retail restrictions

Winnipeg went to the red, or critical, level of the province's pandemic response systemon Nov. 2, followed bythe rest of the province on Nov. 12,as officials struggled to control a rising tide of cases.

All non-essential businesses closed and virtually all social gatherings in homes were banned. Movie theatres, concert halls, sports facilities, restaurant dining rooms and places of worship were ordered closed.

But shortcomings in the rules were immediately obvious.

Businesses that carried essential items were allowed toopen,which enabled them to alsosell non-essential goods.

Amendments had to be made. And made again. And again as the essential versus non-essential list was refined and the definitions modified.

Cosmetics were initially on the no-no list, promptingcriticism.

"You just have these sweeping generalizations [in policy]. The government has to be reminded that, you know, white males are not the default position for many of the people living in this province,"Lara Rae, a transgender woman, told CBC News.

Cosmetics are crucial to the mental health ofpeople experiencing certain forms of anxiety or living with some medical conditions, she said, noting thatit helps transgender people express who they are.

Eventually, to protect smaller businesses that were not allowed to be open, the government ordered large retailers to stop selling non-essential goodsin-store, forcing them to findcreative ways to cordon off products.

Stores were allowed to offer non-essential items forcurbside pickup or delivery, but that exposed an economic disparity, as many people don't have credit cards or access to computers for online shopping.

Manitobans saw it coming

For many, however, code red hasn't been asdistressing as the initiallockdownlastspring, when COVID-19 first arrived in Manitoba.

The public health orders in March forced a sudden shift in our day-to-day lives.

But code red was something wecouldsee coming.

"We had been dealing with this for months on end, so there was a bit of habituation,"El-Gabalawysaid.

"Goingto code red may have not felt as significant as some of the changes that had happened earlier in the pandemic."

Daily caseloads and deaths steadily climbed after summer. By the end of September,Winnipeg and the surrounding area moved to theorange levelon the province's pandemic response system.

Within a month,people were calling for the provinceto impose code red to deal with the growing cases.

Snow couches

Although officials urged Manitobans to entirely avoid interacting with people outside of their household, that wasn't mandated.

Outdoor gatheringsof up to five people, with properdistancing, havebeen allowed throughout the partial lockdown.

So Winnipeggers took the indoorsoutside. Snow-sculpted sofas, with blankets andmagazines, emerged on the Assiniboine Rivernear the Hugo docks.

Friends Cassidy Hes-Jobin,Maddie Alsip, andElissa Hall, who wenttobogganingin East Kildonan, say the ability to see each other even in limited ways has beenablessing.

"When I heard Manitoba was heading back into code red, I honestly went into a fight-or-flight mode. I was terrified to be stuck at home again because of the effects it had on my mental health last spring,"Hes-Jobin said.

"Thankfully, my friends and I were able to maintain regular FaceTime calls and even see each other outside."

Doing something as small goingsledding with friends "can make my whole week,"Alsip said.

"I'm really thankful that we were able to continue meeting outdoors, to still gain that social interaction,"added Hall. "It has definitely helped make it easier to cope with the way the world is right now."

Updated orders

Though hard on mental health and the economy, therestrictionslikely saved an estimated 1,700 lives, Dr. Brent Roussin, Manitoba's chiefpublic health officer, said at a news conference one week before the orders were slightly relaxed.

"We've lost many Manitobans and our hearts go out to those families. But we can see from our restrictions we've saved many more," Roussin said on Jan. 15.

Manitoba remains at the red, or critical, level,but as of 12:01 a.m. Saturday, some of the restrictions were loosened.

With the exception of those in the north where case numbers continue to be problematic Manitobans are now allowed to have two designated individualsover for a visit, andup to five visitors in their yards.

As well, the essential items list has beenjettisoned. That means all retailers can open and sell their full range of products, with strict occupancy and distancing limits under the new orders, which will be in place for at least three weeks. Barber shops and hair stylists may also reopen with the same rules.

The news is good for small businesses, but there's little celebration, saidJonathan Alward, Prairie director for the Canadian Federation of Independent Business.

"When might restaurants see dining services return?When are gyms going to be able to reopen?When are recreation facilities, when are concert venues, when are a lot of businesses related to tourism going to get back to any semblance of normal?" he said.

"Those businesses are having an extremely challenging time right now. I think a lot of them are starting to lose hope and that's very concerning, because they have to make long-termdecisions on whether they're going to keep pushing through it."

Even for the retailers who can open,there's little likelihoodrevenues will rebound to normal levels, asconsumers will take time tofeel comfortable going out again,Alward said.

"It doesn't mean that a lot of the economic challenges are behind us. It's probably going to be far from that."