Stay vigilant, Roussin implores PMH residents
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Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 06/10/2020 (1928 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.
The province announced 51 new cases of COVID-19 on Monday, although none of those cases originated from the Prairie Mountain Health region.
Instead, the bulk of this recent update concentrated on the Winnipeg health region, with 35 new cases being added to the list.
The Southern and Interlake-Eastern health regions filled out the rest of Monday’s update with three and 12 cases, respectively. The Northern health region also registered a single new case yesterday, with the City of Thompson now having to grapple with its first positive coronavirus case since early April.
Even though PMH was spared from this latest COVID update — and with only three new cases over the weekend — Manitoba’s chief public health officer, Dr. Brent Roussin, urged southwestern Manitoba residents to remain vigilant throughout the next couple months.
Roussin reminded everyone during Monday’s news conference that major holidays like Thanksgiving and Christmas are on the horizon, which means that Manitobans will be tempted to travel and gather in large numbers more than ever.
Because of this, Roussin said PMH could easily fall back into threat-level orange (restricted) on the province’s Pandemic Response System if residents don’t stick to the fundamentals of COVID-19 avoidance.
“So that (means) physical distancing, hand hygiene, staying home when you’re ill,” he said. “Limiting our contacts has to apply everywhere, and that’s what makes this virus so challenging. We can’t let our guard down, or we’ll just see those numbers climb again.”
Following Monday’s update, there are now 739 active coronavirus cases in Manitoba, 15 of which are in PMH.
Because of this recent spike in cases in the Winnipeg area, the province also established new rules for that region’s bars and restaurants that will come into effect on Wednesday.
Not only will the sale or service of liquor in these businesses be prohibited between 10 p.m. and 9 a.m., but local operators must ensure that all members of the public vacate their licensed premises by 11 p.m.
“It’s certainly a challenge for the sector, but I think most people wanted to be part of the solution,” Roussin said.
The province’s COVID-death rate remains at 23, with two Winnipeg residents having died over the weekend.
The current five-day test positivity rate is 2.4 per cent after public health officials conducted 3,305 coronavirus tests throughout Saturday and Sunday.
In response to the increased demand for testing, Health Minister Cameron Friesen also announced on Monday that the province is doubling the number of COVID-19 testing sites in Winnipeg, with plans to increase testing capacity province-wide.
PMH has contended with a total of 527 COVID-19 cases since the pandemic began ramping up in March.
» The Brandon Sun