Manitobans tested, but none has coronavirus

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This article was published 07/02/2020 (2088 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

The province’s chief public health officer said Friday there’s still no sign of the coronavirus in Manitoba, and that the risk of getting it remains low.

Dr. Brent Roussin said that as of Wednesday, 10 tests have been completed for the novel coronavirus in Manitoba and there are no laboratory-confirmed cases here. He could not say if any of those tested in Manitoba had travelled to China or visited any high-risk places.

“To date we have not had anyone that we would consider high risk but out of an abundance of caution our clinicians are testing all of them,” he said at press conference Friday at the legislature.

The lab test involves a nose swab with test results available in 24 hours and confirmed in 48 hours, he said. The virus can cause a range of mild to severe symptoms, similar to a cold or flu.

“Many of the people we test are not significantly ill so they would be isolated at home,” Roussin said. “We know that, in past situations, individuals take appropriate precautions and they protect the health of themselves and those around them. We know that harsh or coercive public health measures often don’t work.”

He said there are protocols to isolate anyone with symptoms who requires hospitalization and “contact and droplet precautions already in place” to prevent the spread to other patients and health care workers.

As of Friday in Canada, five cases of the novel coronavirus had been confirmed. All are in Ontario and British Columbia.

Suspected and confirmed cases of the coronavirus have to be reported to Manitoba’s chief provincial public health officer. Health officials in Manitoba are working closely with the Public Health Agency of Canada and the World Health Organization to monitor the situation as it evolves, Roussin said, stressing that the risk of catching the coronavirus remains low.

“If you look at the risk compared to influenza risk, certainly the influenza risk is much higher to Manitobans right now,” said Roussin.

“We see deaths (from influenza) every single year in Manitoba… and in Canada there are thousands of deaths,” he said. “And we do have preventions for that, we have vaccines for that, and we try to get that message out.”

carol.sanders@freepress.mb.ca