Roussin calls for return to ‘fundamentals’ as COVID-19 cases climb
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Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 13/08/2020 (1498 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.
The chief provincial public health officer told Manitobans, “We’re losing sight of the fundamentals,” after the province recorded two troubling distinctions in its fight against COVID-19.
On Friday, Manitoba equalled its previous daily high of 40 new coronavirus cases and set a yet another new high-water mark for active cases (246).
Rather than cracking the whip with enforcement and restrictions, Dr. Brent Roussin said residents need to raise awareness and urged Manitobans to be “kind,” because we’re in this for the long haul.
“This isn’t just for another month or two, this virus is for another year or two,” he said during a media briefing. “We can’t rely on massive shutdowns to get through this.”
For the first time, the public health leader who hasn’t previously been a strong advocate of face coverings said: “All Manitobans should be ensuring they have access to a mask.”
Manitoba reported 25 new cases in the Prairie Mountain Health region. Many are close contacts of known positive tests in Brandon (that city’s active case count is now 90); some can’t be traced to another case, indicating the virus is spreading in the community.
Possible exposures may have occurred Aug. 7 at Sobeys grocery store in Brandon, Aug. 9 at the Cartwright Town and Country Club west of Cartwright, and Aug. 10 at the Minnedosa Hospital.
Officials said there’s still no sign of workplace transmission at Brandon’s Maple Leaf Foods Inc. plant, where 39 workers have now tested positive for COVID-19.
In the Winnipeg region, 10 new cases were reported Friday.
Many appear to be travel-related or close contacts of known cases who have since tested positive. However, there is community transmission of the virus in Winnipeg, too, as roughly 12 per cent of the cases are of “unknown acquisition.”
Roussin called on Manitobans to follow the “fundamentals” of handwashing, physical distancing, getting tested and self-isolating as soon as possible if symptoms appear — and not waiting until they’ve potentially exposed more than 25 other people to the virus, as public officials discovered with some case investigations this month.
He urged people to go above and beyond public health guidelines, such as avoiding large gatherings, even though they’re permitted. “Is now the time we want to be getting together with 30 people when you can’t do physical distancing? Think about that.”
Individuals should be wearing face masks while doing errands indoors and shopping where physical distancing can’t be assured — even though such coverings are not mandated, he said.
Meanwhile, with the rising number of COVID-19 cases, it’s time for the province to accept what it is doing is not working, Manitoba Liberal Leader Dougald Lamont said.
Telling people to return to the fundamentals does no good when some refuse to take COVID-19 seriously, refuse to wear masks, and ignore public health orders — including Premier Brian Pallister, Lamont said, taking a dig at the Tory premier who was caught not wearing a mandatory mask in the Toronto airport.
“This is not just a failure to communicate, this is a failure of leadership,” Lamont said.
Dr. David Butler-Jones, former head of the Public Health Agency of Canada, said he understands why Roussin is telling people to be kind, rather than cracking down on scofflaws and imposing restrictions.
“What you’re trying to do is build public consensus that it is the right thing to do, and it polices itself, in a sense,” said the Ottawa-based epidemiologist.
Peer pressure and education can help, he said. “It’s about gently reminding people, ‘It’s not just about you.'”
Such a mindset will pay bigger dividends in the long run than a crackdown, in which some get their back up and others feel pitted against one another or don’t get tested when they should, Butler-Jones said.
“The on and off again, open and shut down again – no one wants to go back to March and April. At the same time, clearly people are getting tired of this.” – Dr. David Butler-Jones
“The on and off again, open and shut down again — no one wants to go back to March and April,” he said. “At the same time, clearly people are getting tired of this.”
The goal is to convince people they have the power individually to control the surge in cases and can prevent such restrictions from being reimposed, he said.
“If we do behave this way of being cautious and prudent, this is totally in our control. We can, individually, make a big difference, collectively.”
carol.sanders@freepress.mb.ca
Carol Sanders
Legislature reporter
After 20 years of reporting on the growing diversity of people calling Manitoba home, Carol moved to the legislature bureau in early 2020.
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