News Releases

News Release - Manitoba

November 2, 2020

Manitoba Ready to Fight Second Wave of COVID-19

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Teamwork and Resilience Key to Controlling the Virus: Pallister

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As the province moves to heightened levels on the #RestartMB Pandemic Response System, the Manitoba government is building on steps already taken to combat COVID-19, Premier Brian Pallister announced today. 
 
“The growing number of COVID-19 cases in our province is concerning and demonstrates that we need to reinforce the work we’ve already done together by strengthening our collective efforts to fight this virus,” said Pallister. “Our government is committed to protecting Manitobans and will continue to demonstrate that as we add to the measures already taken.”
 
The premier noted the significant progress already made in ramping up for the current wave of COVID-19 in Manitoba including:
increasing testing capacity by 40 per cent since Oct. 1 with four new testing sites opened;
opening a dedicated evening COVID-19 testing site at Dakota Health Clinic, which has already served over 650 patients;
introducing a new appointment booking system, which has allowed more than 10,000 Manitobans to book appointments since Oct. 20 and virtually eliminated wait times at testing sites;
creating a new COVID-19 testing micro-credential in partnership with Red River College that has already trained over 40 students and has over 200 students registered for upcoming cohorts;
redeploying health staff to prioritize case investigations, contact tracing and notification, and daily case and contact followup for those in self-isolation;
working with the Canadian Red Cross, Statistics Canada and the COVID contact centre at Deer Lodge to increase contact tracing to over 1,350 contact notifications daily with even more capacity to be added in the coming week; and
seeking authority from the Manitoba legislature to spend an additional $500 million on COVID-19 response to protect Manitobans.
 
“We all have a role to play in protecting ourselves, our loved ones and our communities,” added Pallister. “It is critical that every Manitoban act now to significantly reduce their close contacts. We must get back to following the fundamentals in order to stop the spread of COVID-19 across our province.”
 
The Manitoba government has increased fines to $1,296 for individuals and $5,000 for businesses who do not follow Manitoba’s public health and emergency orders. To reinforce these new deterrents, existing provincial regulations have been amended to enable municipal bylaw enforcement officers to enforce these orders.
 
“Our government has stood shoulder to shoulder with all Manitobans throughout this pandemic,” said Pallister. “We are in this together and I know that we will get through this together.”
 
To find out more about how Manitoba is taking action to protect Manitobans and fight COVID-19, visit www.manitoba.ca/COVID19.
 
 
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