“You Hutterites Are Full of COVID” | What 2020 Did to Our Colonies

In the summer of 2020, a Hutterite woman in Alberta was standing in a bargain store with her shopping in her hands when two clerks told her to put it all back and leave. Nobody asked if she was sick. They saw the dress and the kerchief. I’m Andreas Wurz. I keep the books on a Lehrerleut colony of 150 people in southern Alberta. This is what that summer looked like from inside a colony, including the part we got wrong ourselves. IN THIS VIDEO Why the virus spread so fast on Hutterite colonies: one dining hall, one kitchen, and a people who drive all night for each other The St. Mary River tragedy, and the Hutterite dive team that crossed the prairies The real numbers in Manitoba and Saskatchewan, and the ones nobody reported Naming colonies on the evening news, and why Manitoba stopped Turned away from clinics and stores, and a joint statement from Claresholm The summer the dining halls went quiet: “What we miss most is the singing.” What some of our own leaders got wrong Tell me in the comments: Were you ever treated as “the outbreak” because of where you lived, what you looked like or where you worked? If you lived near a colony in 2020, I want your side too, the fear as well as the kindness. I read every one. SOURCES CBC – Hutterites face COVID-19 stigma across the Prairies: https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/manitoba/prairies-hutterite-stigma-covid-19-1.5662920 The Globe and Mail – Hutterites across the Prairies face stigma as coronavirus cases surge: https://www.theglobeandmail.com/canada/alberta/article-hutterites-across-the-prairies-face-stigma-as-coronavirus-cases-surge/ CBC – Manitoba will stop identifying when COVID-19 cases are on colonies: https://www.cbc.ca/1.5660328 CBC – Stigmatizing Hutterites about COVID-19 will harm response: https://www.cbc.ca/lite/story/1.5667078 CBC – Hutterian Safety Council disappointed Saskatchewan still identifying cases: https://www.cbc.ca/1.5665152 Global News – Alberta Hutterite colonies facing coronavirus-related discrimination: https://globalnews.ca/news/7187253/hutterite-colonies-discrimination-coronavirus/ Global News – Manitoba Hutterite leader says outbreaks leading to stigmatization: https://globalnews.ca/news/7210847/manitoba-hutterite-covid-19-stigmatization Global News / Reuters – Canadian Hutterite colonies struggle with coronavirus outbreaks: https://globalnews.ca/news/7233954/coronavirus-outbreak-hutterite-colonies CBC – Manitoba Hutterite colonies adjust communal lives: https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/manitoba/hutterite-covid19-manitoba-1.5704764 CBC – Winnipeg Filipinos sympathize with Hutterites: https://www.cbc.ca/lite/story/1.5661412 CBC – One-third of active COVID-19 cases in Manitoba linked to communal groups: https://www.cbc.ca/lite/story/1.5698264 CTV Calgary – Divers from Manitoba Hutterite colony arrive to assist: https://calgary.ctvnews.ca/divers-from-manitoba-hutterite-colony-arrive-to-assist-in-effort-to-recover-missing-teen-1.4982690 Prince Albert Daily Herald – “The Hutterite story is missing”: https://paherald.sk.ca/the-hutterite-story-is-missing/ Global News – Hutterites facing discrimination during pandemic, Saskatchewan author: https://globalnews.ca/news/7216311/coronavirus-hutterites-discrimination-saskatchewan-author/ About the narrator: Andreas Wurz is a composite character. His voice and image are AI-generated. The facts in this video come from the sources above.