Fifth Manitoban dies from virus; provincial legislation expands chief health officer’s authority By: Danielle Da Silva Posted: 7:00 PM CDT Wednesday, Apr. 15, 2020 Last Modified: 7:51 AM CDT Thursday, Apr. 16, 2020 Updates

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This article was published 14/04/2020 (1620 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

A fifth person has died from the novel coronavirus and nine remained in hospital Wednesday as the provincial government debated enhanced powers for provincial health officials to steer Manitoba through a “critical time” in the outbreak.

Chief provincial public health officer Dr. Brent Roussin said a woman in her 60s who lived in the Prairie Mountain health region died of complications of COVID-19. She had underlying health conditions and was hospitalized, but not in intensive care, he said.

The province reported two more probable cases, and a total of 132 active cases. The number of individuals considered to be recovered from the virus sits at 108 and two previous probable cases were ruled negative.

“This is still a very vital time, a very critical time in our outbreak,” Roussin said. “Certainly we want to continue to see low numbers, but the only way that’s going to happen is if Manitobans continue to strictly adhere to the social-distancing strategies.”

The Progressive Conservative government introduced legislation Wednesday to amend the Public Health Act to give the chief provincial public health officer additional powers. The bill passed and received royal assent Wednesday evening.

The legislation allows Roussin to prohibit and restrict people from travelling within specified areas in Manitoba and from travelling to and from the province.

Under the law, Roussin can order people who travel into and out of specified areas to take specific actions, and order people who arrive in Manitoba from elsewhere to take measures to prevent the spread of the disease.

He was non-committal on how he intends to use the new authority, but did not rule out restricting travel within Manitoba and from urban centres to rural communities or cottage country. Additional public-health orders may be made this week, he added.

“We’re going to need to continue to focus on situations that would be high-risk if the virus was introduced,” he said. “So things like long-term care facilities, congregant settings and including remote, isolated communities.”

“We’re going to need to continue to focus on situations that would be high-risk if the virus was introduced. So things like long-term care facilities, congregant settings and including remote, isolated communities.”
– Dr. Brent Roussin

International travellers — particularly from the United States — present the greatest risk for the virus to enter the province, he said. International travellers are required to self-isolate for 14 days under the federal Quarantine Act.

However, Roussin said he is considering whether travellers moving between neighbouring provinces and other Canadian jurisdictions where high numbers of COVID-19 cases are reported ought be subject to additional public-health orders.

Bill 59 also gives a medical officer or inspector broad powers to deal with anyone failing to comply with a public-health emergency order.

The province continues to work on projections of the virus progressing through the population but is not yet prepared to release its models publicly, Roussin said.

“Because of where we are in our trajectory, because we’ve had relatively low numbers because we’re early on, the modelling data proves more difficult,” he said. “The more data you can enter into these models, the more likely they’re going to be reflective of numbers that are reasonable to share and to guide some of our practice.”

Chief nursing officer Lanette Siragusa said 21 health-care providers — seven nurses, four medical staff, 10 allied health and support staff — have tested positive. Nineteen work in Winnipeg and two are from the Interlake-Eastern regional health authority. Nine have returned to work and 12 continue to self-isolate.

Siragusa said no health-care workers have tested positive since April 9.

Roussin advised Manitobans to continue to seek medical attention as required at hospitals and clinics for conditions unrelated to COVID-19 and said the province’s health-care clinics and hospitals are safe.

danielle.dasilva@freepress.mb.ca

Danielle Da Silva
Reporter

Danielle Da Silva is a general assignment reporter.

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