Province announces 13 new cases of COVID-19 Saturday

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This article was published 11/04/2020 (2001 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Amid reports of some Manitobans heading out of town to soak in the holiday weekend, the province’s top public health officer once again urged residents to stay home, refrain from family gatherings and cancel all non-essential travel, as the province moves into a critical stage of COVID-19’s pandemic arc.

On Saturday, chief public health officer Brent Roussin acknowledged that visiting the cabin and having no contact with anyone else is "essentially low risk." But if a person were to become sick, it could strain already-limited health care resources in rural jurisdictions; even the trip itself may increase potential for virus transmission.

"Travelling to the cottage may mean an extra stop at the gas station, it may mean an extra stop at the grocery store," Roussin said, during the daily COVID-19 news briefing on Saturday afternoon. "Certainly, Manitobans can use their judgment in many circumstances, but the overall messaging is to stay home."

Meanwhile, Roussin also cautioned against the practice of getting together with friends or family at parks, even if everyone involved maintains the recommended two-metre distance between individuals. While getting fresh air is healthy, he said, that should still be done with the spirit of the "stay home" messaging in mind.

"I don’t think any large gatherings, even maintaining that appropriate distance, is what we’re looking for right now," he said. "Do so virtually. Right now we’re just in this vital aspect of our curve. I think the best thing we can do is minimize contact with others in person. These strict measures will keep this curve down."

These cautions came after Roussin announced 13 new cases of COVID-19, bringing the cumulative total to 243. So far, 96 Manitobans have recovered from the virus, and the active case load sits at 143. Eight people were in hospital as of Saturday — three fewer than the previous day — with five of those in intensive care.

None of the newly announced cases involved a health care worker, Roussin said.

Although the active case load ticked up from Friday’s low of 134, it is still below the week’s high of 149. The health care system is able to absorb these figures: emergency visits are down, chief nursing officer Lanette Siragusa said, and hospital beds, including in ICU, are at about 70 per cent capcity, which is lower than usual.

"We’ve asked Manitobans to take significant precautions for a number of weeks, and we may be seeing some of those benefits paying off," Roussin said.

Only 175 tests were processed at the provincial Cadham Lab on Friday, a sharp decline from the more than 900 done on Thursday. That was a result of low demand at all testing sites, Roussin said, which officials believe was simply due to it being a holiday.

With that in mind, Roussin reminded the public that testing sites are still open through the holiday weekend. Sites in Thompson, Flin Flon and The Pas will be open from 1 to 4 p.m. on Sunday. In Winnipeg, Mount Carmel Clinic will be closed on Easter Sunday, but all other testing sites will remain open on their standard hours.

The province also announced it was streamlining testing procedures for symptomatic health care workers, who can now go directly to testing sites to be swabbed. Previously, they had needed to notify a staffing office in order to be referred for testing. That office can now be notified after the test has been done.

melissa.martin@freepress.mb.ca