'Touch and go': Brandonites adjust to 1st day of relaxed restrictions after COVID-19 outbreak

The first day of loosened COVID-19 restrictions in Manitoba's Prairie Mountain Health region came with cautious optimism and a reminder not to forget how the region got where it is now. 

On Friday, restrictions to contain the pandemic in the southwestern Manitoba region were lifted, after the area was moved into the orange, or restricted, zone more than three weeks ago. It now joins the rest of Manitoba in the yellow, or caution, stage.

The increased restrictions were in response to what officials described as a number of outbreaks of the novel coronavirus in the Brandon area, and a cluster of dozens of cases connected to the Maple Leaf Foods pork processing plant in the city.

The new rules came just as many restaurants were getting back on their feet after spring shutdowns. 

"The sales went down a lot," said Ana Beltran, who owns the Sabor Latino restaurant on Ninth Street on the edge of Brandon's downtown. 

Beltran said the new restrictions, which limited gathering sizes and mandated masks in indoor public spaces, came just as customers were feeling comfortable going out to eat once again.

She said her restaurant moved to takeout and delivery only in the spring, while also opening a food truck. Beltran said the new restrictions in August put a damper on in-house dining after it resumed in June.

"Everybody was scared to go to the restaurant and have interactions with people, and we understand that," she said on Friday. "We were scared for ourselves, too."

Beltran said many of her 12 staff members were sending money back to their families in Central America, where she said government supports during the pandemic are lacking. 

She said she and her staff tried to remain as optimistic as possible and credited the community for its support of local businesses, which she said allowed her to keep her doors open. 

On Sixth Street in Brandon's downtown, Ben Hernandez said people were also eager to come back and eat inside his restaurant.

"Once we opened up it was kind of touch and go," said Hernandez, owner of Benny's Restaurant and Catering. "People were coming out, [but] they were hesitant."

Like Beltran, Hernandez credited the community with supporting his takeout and delivery options, as the eagerness to dine out faded alongside rising case numbers. 

"People were very happy to get out of their homes, but when we started seeing the cases, the feeling was very similar to what we were getting in March," Hernandez said. 

He said he installed barriers between tables in his restaurant and staff and patrons were required to wear masks. That's something he said he plans to continue with, for now. 

"I'm going to leave the sign [requiring masks] on the door," Hernandez said. "I would like people to adhere to that, even though it is not mandatory." 

'Nose to the grindstone'

That's a message Brandon Mayor Rick Chrest hopes all Brandon residents carry with them in the coming weeks. 

"It's not that much to ask to carry on with the hand sanitizing, the physical distancing, wearing masks most of the time that you can," Chrest said. "[It] certainly goes a long way to keeping theses numbers tamped down."

Chrest said he also hopes the uptick in cases and tightening of restrictions remain in Brandon residents' minds as a reminder of how one case can balloon into an outbreak. 

"We really had to rally our community and put our nose to the grindstone on this thing, and they did," he said. 

Beltran said she won't make customers in her restaurant wear masks if they don't want to, but she and her staff will continue to wear them for the foreseeable future. She hopes people don't forget the experience of the past few weeks.

"It is not done. This continues," she said. "We cannot put our hands up, we have to continue doing what we're doing until this is done.

"We have a really strong community, the people have big hearts and we're connected together."