Hutterite colonies brace for more COVID-19 cases By: Danielle Da Silva Posted: 7:00 PM CDT Monday, Jul. 20, 2020 Last Modified: 7:17 PM CDT Monday, Jul. 20, 2020 Updates

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This article was published 19/07/2020 (1622 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Hutterite colonies in Manitoba are bracing for the spread of the novel coronavirus after 10 infections were identified at three communities over the weekend.

Chief provincial public health officer Dr. Brent Roussin said 20 people have been diagnosed with COVID-19 at Hutterite colonies in the province and more cases are expected, including at other communities.

“We’re going to see more cases from our clusters. There’s a lot of contacts out there and a lot of people have been tested, a lot of people are self-isolating,” Roussin said Monday.

“We’re going to do what we can to ensure that these are isolated, and with these various contacts we want to limit any further transmission,” he said.

In total, the province announced 18 new cases of COVID-19 as of 9:30 a.m. on Monday; this includes seven cases reported over the weekend.

One person is in hospital in intensive care, Roussin said. The total number of deaths in Manitoba remains at seven while the active case count has climbed to 29 from the single digit case load reported one week ago.

Of the new cases, 10 are from Hutterite colonies; two are related to travel; one is a trucker; three are close contacts to a confirmed case; and two have not yet been determined. The new cases were announced in all health regions except the Northern Regional Health Authority.

The outbreak on the Hutterite colonies has been tied to travel to Alberta, Roussin said. However, it’s not yet known where one individual picked up the virus, as it can’t be linked to travel or close contact with a confirmed case.

Roussin said it’s too early to tell how many more people may become ill with the virus in the affected communities; however, in Manitoba about 14 per cent of people identified as close contacts to a confirmed case develops symptoms.

“We do recognize that our communities do have a certain vulnerability because of our lifestyle. It has everybody on alert.” – Mark Waldner, Hutterian Safety Council

“When you have that stretch of zeros that we did, it’s certainly human nature to lose some focus on what got us here, but these cases that we’re seeing now is a reminder that this virus is still around, if we let our guard down it could take off again,” Roussin said.

Mark Waldner of the Hutterian Safety Council said colonies with active cases are working closely with public health officials to support self-isolation efforts for those who are ill, and community leaders are in daily contact with Health Links.

The three colonies that are affected have gone into a self-imposed isolation, Waldner said, and have limited travel to essential trips only. Hygiene and sanitizing measures have been stepped up in all communities that he is in contact with, communal activities have been suspended and protocols have been put in place to limit potential exposure during deliveries or pick-ups.

“We do recognize that our communities do have a certain vulnerability because of our lifestyle,” Waldner said. “It has everybody on alert.”

Overall, Waldner said the community members are concerned about the potential for the spread of the virus and are doing their best to cope. The increased public attention has added more stress, he said, and there are fears of stigmatization.

“COVID doesn’t have boundaries. It really doesn’t care if it hits a Hutterite community, or if it hits some other community,” he said. “It’s something that impacts us all. You can’t keep from catching a cold or getting the flu… this is something that nobody chooses to have in their own lives.”

Waldner said at least 20 other colonies have restricted travel and are on alert for signs of the respiratory infection.

“Although there’s no cases, there might be a tenuous connection, or even no known linkage to the confirmed cases, they’ve decided in order to mitigate risk, to reduce risk they’re going to restrict travel for the next few weeks and try to protect our elderly and anybody with underlying conditions,” Waldner said.

Roussin also alerted the public to a potential exposure on three recent flights: Asiana OZ 0704 from Manila, Philippines to Seoul, South Korea on July 7; Air Canada AC 0064 from Seoul to Vancouver on July 8 (rows 26 to 32); and Air Canada AC 0296 from Vancouver to Winnipeg on July 8 (rows 21 to 27).

The risk to public is low, public health officials said, but people on those flights should self-isolate for 14 days from arrival and monitor for symptoms. Passengers not in the affected seats should self-monitor for symptoms and self-isolate if they develop.

On Monday the five day test positivity rate was 0.83 per cent.

Any future increase in cases related to the clusters wouldn’t necessarily trigger the reintroduction of restrictions so long as public health officials are confident cases are contained and significant community spread is not occurring, Roussin said.

The fundamentals of physical distancing and hand washing should continue to be top of mind, he noted.

“This is a big change in our behaviour,” Roussin said. “We need to be staying home when we’re ill, we need to maintain that physical distancing, and we need to realize that this virus is not done with us yet.”

danielle.dasilva@freepress.mb.ca