City reports successful COVID testing program
Advertisement
Read this article for free:
or
Already have an account? Log in here »
We need your support!
Local journalism needs your support!
As we navigate through unprecedented times, our journalists are working harder than ever to bring you the latest local updates to keep you safe and informed.
Now, more than ever, we need your support.
Starting at $15.99 plus taxes every four weeks you can access your Brandon Sun online and full access to all content as it appears on our website.
Subscribe Nowor call circulation directly at (204) 727-0527.
Your pledge helps to ensure we provide the news that matters most to your community!
To continue reading, please subscribe:
Add Brandon Sun access to your Free Press subscription for only an additional
$1 for the first 4 weeks*
*Your next subscription payment will increase by $1.00 and you will be charged $20.00 plus GST for four weeks. After four weeks, your payment will increase to $24.00 plus GST every four weeks.
Read unlimited articles for free today:
or
Already have an account? Log in here »
Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 04/02/2022 (1506 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.
The City of Brandon’s rapid-test program for unvaccinated municipal staff has been successful so far, according to the city manager.
Though Ron Bowles told the Sun that the exact number of cases isn’t being tracked, he said this week a few positive cases have been detected in the process.
Last year, the city implemented a mandate for workers in public-facing jobs to show proof of vaccination or submit to regular testing similar to the mandate implemented by the provincial government for its staff.
On Jan. 11, the city expanded that program to all city departments.
The city has kept track roughly of the total number of tests administered so far, which they estimate as being around 710 since Nov. 1, 2021.
There are currently 29 employees being tested through the program three times a week. With the city saying it has roughly 600 regular employees, that means only 4.83 per cent of employees are currently unvaccinated.
According to Bowles, the city hasn’t been immune to seeing COVID-19 cases among its workforce, but the current policy is making sure the city has been able to provide uninterrupted services.
“By and large, our departments are impacted by omicron, of course, but they’re going in a positive direction and they’re getting better, not worse,” he said.
“Departments are saying ‘well, I had two people off on COVID-related and now one of them is back.’ That’s a consistent message from most of the departments. Some have more than others that are away, but they’re managing.”
Bowles said the city’s vaccination policy as it currently stands is working. However, because of the virulence of the omicron variant of COVID-19, he said it’s hard to determine if the policy has reduced the number of cases among staff since before the policy was implemented.
“We’re able to provide all our services and that’s what I can say,” Bowles said.
“Our goals are to protect our people and provide services to our citizens, so we’re able to do both of those.”
Going forward, the city is trying to acquire additional rapid tests from the provincial government so it can test not only test unvaccinated workers but also workers who are more at risk of contracting the virus.
A provincial spokesperson told the Sun the Manitoba government does not track the number of positive cases discovered through rapid testing its unvaccinated staff.
» cslark@brandonsun.com
» Twitter: @ColinSlark