Our province, as is the case across all jurisdictions in Canada, has drastically adapted its operations as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic in a short period of time.
As of Thursday, April 23, there has been a total of 262 confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Manitoba. So far, there has been a total of three positive confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Northern Manitoba.
There have been calls for the Manitoba public health officials to disclose the number of COVID-19 cases by community and to increase testing in Northern Manitoba. However, the province is adamant about not making this kind of commitment to Northern communities. This is a time when Northerners need to know that they can count on their government.
Northerners are concerned about the reluctance of the provincial government to name COVID-19 cases by community. This is problematic because its promotes high levels of unease and anxiety in the North. Many in our communities are left with uncertainty and more susceptible to latch on to rumours about locations of these confirmed cases. We urge the government to take this concern into consideration and name the communities that have confirmed cases.
As evidently shown, this is a public health issue and our communities need to be aware of exact areas where positive cases are found while they continue to observe the outlined precautions. In addition, the NDP has also made demands for public reporting:
• of the number of completed tests per screening site to keep Manitobans informed;
• on the number of swabs done for COVID-19 by site; and
• of tests still awaiting results as is done in other jurisdictions, such as Ontario.
If you have concerns regarding COVID-19 or suspect that you are presenting symptoms call Health Links at 204-788-8200 or 1-888-315-9257 toll-free or access their screening tool at https://sharedhealthmb.ca/covid19/screening-tool/.
Also, feel free to email me at Danielle.adams@yourmanitoba.com or contact my office at 204-677-2744 for any questions or concerns.
