One of the most puzzling quandaries of making a newspaper during COVID-19 is trying to figure out how much to actually talk about the pandemic. Everyone knows about it. No one needs to be reminded that we’re in the midst of a plague exacerbated by neoliberal policy and right-wing science deniers in positions of power.

On the other hand, this pandemic really does affect everything. It’s hard to think of an event, story or person who hasn’t had to make adjustments just to exist when it’s unsafe to be in public. At the time of this writing, there have been 38 new cases in Manitoba this week - and those figures only account for Monday and Tuesday.

However, I think the stories in this week’s issue of The Uniter illustrate that we, as well as many other Winnipeggers, are starting to find a balance. As arts and culture reporter Hannah Foulger writes in her cover feature, Winnipeg’s literary community is finding new ways to engage, from readers to writers to booksellers. 

Our other arts and culture writer, Naaman Sturrup, looks at how local film fests and in-person events like Nuit Blanche are adapting to a socially distanced world. City reporter Cierra Bettens asks writer Seth Klein about how Canada’s COVID response can inform climate action, while also seeing how Osborne Village businesses are coping. Campus reporter Callum Goulet-Kilgour examines data science’s role in addressing the pandemic, as well as how Indigenous communities’ health has been impacted.

And, I promise, none of these articles will hit you over the head with COVID! They’re fun, they’re informative, they’re about the people, places and events they’re covering. But, like everyone and everything else, we’ve had to make some small adjustments.

Published in Volume 75, Number 02 of The Uniter (September 17, 2020)