Federal officials to provide COVID-19 update focused on seniors, foreign workers

Advertisement

Advertise with us

Federal officials are due to provide an update on measures for seniors, home care and temporary foreign workers during the COVID-19 crisis today.

Read this article for free:


or

Already have an account? Log in here »

To continue reading, please subscribe:

Subscribe and receive a limited-edition Free Press branded hat or tote.

Digital Subscription

One year of digital access for only $205*

  • Enjoy unlimited reading on winnipegfreepress.com
  • Read the E-Edition, our digital replica newspaper
  • Access News Break, our award-winning app
  • Play interactive puzzles

*First annual payment billed as $205.00 + GST for one year. This annual subscription will automatically renew at $233.00 + GST every 52 weeks (10% off the regular annual price of $259.35). Offer available to new and qualified returning subscribers only. Cancel any time.

To continue reading, please subscribe:

Add Free Press access to your Brandon Sun subscription for only an additional

$1 for the first 4 weeks*

  • Enjoy unlimited reading on winnipegfreepress.com
  • Read the E-Edition, our digital replica newspaper
  • Access News Break, our award-winning app
  • Play interactive puzzles
Start now

*Your next Brandon Sun subscription payment will increase by $1.00 and you will be charged $17.95 plus GST for four weeks. After four weeks, your payment will increase to $24.95 plus GST every four weeks.

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 13/04/2020 (2333 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Federal officials are due to provide an update on measures for seniors, home care and temporary foreign workers during the COVID-19 crisis today.

The Prime Minister’s Office says the news will come from public health officials and cabinet ministers — not Justin Trudeau, who’s taking the day off from public appearances.

The expected update comes after a weekend that saw Quebec’s premier rebuke a long-term care home where 31 residents have died in less than a month.

This undated electron microscope image made available by the U.S. National Institutes of Health in February 2020 shows the Novel Coronavirus SARS-CoV-2, yellow, emerging from the surface of cells, blue/pink, cultured in the lab. Also known as 2019-nCoV, the virus causes COVID-19. THE CANADIAN PRESS/AP, NIAID-RML
This undated electron microscope image made available by the U.S. National Institutes of Health in February 2020 shows the Novel Coronavirus SARS-CoV-2, yellow, emerging from the surface of cells, blue/pink, cultured in the lab. Also known as 2019-nCoV, the virus causes COVID-19. THE CANADIAN PRESS/AP, NIAID-RML

Francois Legault says there was “gross negligence” at Residence Herron, where five of the deaths are definitively linked to COVID-19.

Authorities first inspected Residence Herron on March 29, three days after word of the first death, and found the residence “deserted” as staff had walked off the job.

The province’s coroner will investigate, as will police.

Numerous other long-term care homes across the country are experiencing outbreaks of the novel coronavirus, including Pinecrest Nursing Home in Bobcaygeon, Ont., which has seen 29 of its residents die in recent weeks.

And on Saturday, Bloc Quebecois Leader Yves-Francois Blanchet raised concern about temporary foreign workers arriving in Canada to work on farms.

The federal government has exempted migrant workers from COVID-19 travel restrictions because of their importance to the economy. Officials have said they’ll face health screening before travelling to Canada and will isolate for 14 days once they get here.

But Blanchet says he believes those rules don’t go far enough.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published April 12, 2020.

Report Error Submit a Tip

More Stories

Winnipeg teacher disciplined for ‘liking’ student’s post

Maggie Macintosh 5 minute read Preview

Winnipeg teacher disciplined for ‘liking’ student’s post

Maggie Macintosh 5 minute read Monday, Aug. 31, 2026

A Winnipeg teacher has been reprimanded for accidentally clicking ‘like’ on a student’s year-old social media post during a late-night scroll.

A recent investigation by Manitoba’s independent teacher commissioner found Jordan Nelson, a hockey coach in the Pembina Trails School Division, engaged in professional misconduct by viewing online profiles of students who were following a team account he was managing on behalf of his school.

“Using information associated with the school’s hockey team account to access and review a student’s social media account, without any legitimate educational or workplace purpose, was inappropriate and inconsistent with the professional boundaries expected of a teacher,” commissioner Noni Classen wrote.

A five-page report, better known as a consent resolution agreement, details agreed-upon facts about an October 2025 incident and subsequent disciplinary action.

Read
Monday, Aug. 31, 2026

Dangerous offender status sought for convicted killer

Erik Pindera 5 minute read Preview

Dangerous offender status sought for convicted killer

Erik Pindera 5 minute read Yesterday at 2:00 AM CDT

Crown prosecutors intend to apply to have a convicted killer, who also admitted his guilt in an assault on a stranger at The Forks and a robbery at a local beer vendor, designated as a dangerous offender.

Daniel Christopher Dumas, who is in his mid-30s, pleaded guilty to assault causing bodily harm and robbery in front of provincial court Judge Donovan Dvorak on Monday for the attacks on June 6 and 7, 2025. He will be sentenced at a later date.

Prosecutor Monique Cam said the Crown plans to apply for a dangerous offender designation for Dumas, which, if granted, could result in him being given an indefinite prison sentence.

“The Crown does intend to make an application at a future date … for a remand for assessment to have Mr. Dumas assessed by a court-ordered assessor for the purpose of pursuing a dangerous offender application,” Cam said.

Read
Yesterday at 2:00 AM CDT

Rare and tough to notice, sarcomas may lurk in the body

Jen Zoratti 12 minute read Preview

Rare and tough to notice, sarcomas may lurk in the body

Jen Zoratti 12 minute read Monday, Aug. 31, 2026

Last summer, Michelle Finley was going about a normal day.

She had just dropped her car off at a garage and was walking back to her office building downtown when, suddenly, she was stopped in her tracks by a searing cramp on the bottom of her right foot.

“It was so painful it took my breath away,” says Finley, now 52. “I stopped and held on to the side of a building for a second — like, it was bringing tears to my eyes.”

Finley thought she had a really bad case of plantar fasciitis. Nine months later she would lose her foot to sarcoma.

Read
Monday, Aug. 31, 2026

Provencher Park eyed for new aquatic centre

Malak Abas 4 minute read Preview

Provencher Park eyed for new aquatic centre

Malak Abas 4 minute read Updated: Yesterday at 6:49 PM CDT

Provencher Park may be the next site for a new aquatic centre.

Read
Updated: Yesterday at 6:49 PM CDT

Mayoral rematch between Gillingham, Klein gets ugly on Day 1

Joyanne Pursaga 6 minute read Preview

Mayoral rematch between Gillingham, Klein gets ugly on Day 1

Joyanne Pursaga 6 minute read Updated: Yesterday at 6:25 PM CDT

Former city councillor and provincial cabinet minister Kevin Klein says he will soon enter the race to become Winnipeg’s next mayor — prompting an immediate war of words with incumbent Scott Gillingham.

Gillingham quickly responded to the announcement by calling Klein “toxic” and a “fixer” for Peter Nygard.

Klein said Tuesday he had decided not to enter the mayoral race weeks ago due to an unspecified health scare that required surgery. After recovering, he decided to run.

“The future of the city means a lot to me. I believe that we have so much untapped potential that I felt I should do something about it,” said Klein, noting he felt compelled to run because key city issues, such as perceptions of public safety in the downtown, have grown worse over the past four years.

Read
Updated: Yesterday at 6:25 PM CDT

In the footsteps of a refugee

Josiah Neufeld 6 minute read Preview

In the footsteps of a refugee

Josiah Neufeld 6 minute read 6:00 AM CDT

I used to have a meaningful job, a loving family and a strong community. All that changed overnight.

There was a regime change.

I lost my job and found myself targeted by the new military government. One day I came home to find my father and brother had been beaten by police for refusing to reveal my whereabouts.

I used all my cash to pay a taxi driver to smuggle me over a border into the neighbouring country.

Read
6:00 AM CDT