Expanded virus testing aimed at essential workers By: Larry Kusch Posted: 7:00 PM CDT Thursday, Apr. 16, 2020 Last Modified: 11:52 AM CDT Friday, Apr. 17, 2020 Updates

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 15/04/2020 (1716 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Manitoba announced Thursday it is expanding its COVID-19 test criteria to include symptomatic workers in essential services, while the premier acknowledged that increased testing will play a key role in re-opening the provincial economy.

The province’s chief public health officer, Dr. Brent Roussin, said all workers or volunteers with symptoms of the virus at workplaces that have been identified as essential — from retail and wholesale to communications, construction and transportation — will now be tested.

As well, any symptomatic person who lives with a health-care worker, first responder or employee in such settings as correctional facilities, shelters, long-term care or residential facilities will also be tested.

In recent days, the number of tests carried out at the Cadham Provincial Laboratory has declined, but it’s not been due to any backlogs at the lab, Roussin said.

"The low numbers all reflect the demand — the amount of people showing up for testing (under the old criteria)," he said.

The head of the laboratory, Paul Van Caeseele, said he and his colleagues have always managed to turn around results within 48 hours, with more equipment coming on board as the number of tests rise.

"There’s always a maximum capacity, but right now it’s dictated by how many specimens we receive in a day," he told the Free Press.

The recent drop in demand has allowed health officials to expand their testing criteria, Roussin said.

"As we see our numbers of tests dwindling, now we are going to expand access to lower-risk groups trying to ensure we keep getting a good sampling of the population," he told a press briefing.

Increased testing will give health officials and the general public greater confidence in the timing of efforts to get the economy back on track, but there’s always the fear that acting too soon will lead to the resurgence of the virus, Premier Brian Pallister said.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GYnIseg0ij0

On Wednesday, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said when Canada is able to loosen controls on physical distancing and begin ramping up economic activity that rapid testing on a wide-scale basis will be an essential part of country’s continued vigilance.

It’s unclear how soon Manitoba and other provinces will have the greater and quicker testing capability they’ll need.

Dr. Joel Kettner, a former Manitoba chief public health officer, said he doesn’t see any harm in Trudeau’s testing aspirations.

"(But) if you say mass testing, one has to define that," he said.

One potential plan would be to test any person with symptoms who works in an area where they can infect others.

"An aggressive testing strategy would say, ‘If you have symptoms don’t go to work until we test you. If you test negative then you might go to work (if you’re feeling well enough). If you’re testing positive you’re staying home."

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XsQlL0a-3VY

With certain categories of workers who have close dealings with the public, such as health-care workers and grocery clerks, you might test them periodically, even if they don’t have symptoms, said Kettner, an associate professor at the University of Manitoba.

Current testing parameters in Manitoba include people with symptoms who have travelled outside the province in the past 14 days, close contacts of a confirmed case, health workers, patients admitted to hospital with respiratory symptoms, lab workers who have worked with COVID-19 tests, first responders and individuals who live or work in the north, a remote or isolated community, or in a congregate setting, such as a jail.

Any person concerned about their exposure to, or risk of having, the coronavirus should call Health Links to be screened to see if a test is required.

— with files from Carol Sanders and Dylan Robertson

larry.kusch@freepress.mb.ca

Larry Kusch
Legislature reporter

Larry Kusch didn’t know what he wanted to do with his life until he attended a high school newspaper editor’s workshop in Regina in the summer of 1969 and listened to a university student speak glowingly about the journalism program at Carleton University in Ottawa.

   Read full biography