Via CBC News: Manitoba Hutterite colonies adjust communal lives as families isolate during COVID-19 pandemic. Excerpt:
When Tirzah Maendel and her family went into COVID-19 isolation just over two weeks ago, what they missed the most was their close-knit Hutterite community.
"Shame and blame, there is no need for any of that. We're here to help each other," said Maendel, a member of the Baker Hutterite Colony, about 90 minutes west of Winnipeg.
Earlier in August, Maendel's mother tested positive for the novel coronavirus during a visit to the hospital, something that surprised them all. It was the community's first case.
As a result, her husband and three daughters also had to get tested, and went into isolation.
"Neither she nor we had any kind of symptoms. It was quite a shock. But we took it seriously," said Maendel, 40.
The community kitchen was shut down and communal meals ended. Most families picked up their meals and took them home to eat. The Maendel family's meals were delivered to them.
Within a few days, the rest of the family all tested negative, but they all stayed in isolation, going on outings together to pass the time.
"We had a day of hiking and biking and I think we ended up doing, what, 66 [kilometres] in a day? There's some local trails down the road off the Highway 34 that we wanted to explore and we made a day of it," she said.
"It was a therapy day for us."
Hutterites are communal and interdependent economically and spiritually. They eat, work and worship together. So one of the hardest parts of isolation was staying away from other family members and children in the colony.
