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No new COVID-19 cases reported in Manitoba March 17

Daycares and casinos will close in coming week
Syringe

The Manitoba government reported no new COVID-19 cases during their daily update on March 17.

At a now-daily provincial health care briefing in Winnipeg Tuesday, new provincial measures were announced to fight the spread of the disease.

Gatherings of more than 50 people are being strongly discouraged. Daycares are set to close at end of day March 20 at the same time as schools across the province. The six casinos overseen by the provincial government in Manitoba will be closing at midnight March 18.

“This is not the time to go out in large groups of people,” Dr. Brent Roussin, chief provincial public health officer said.

“That includes St. Patrick’s Day festivities. We will be getting back to those times, but now is not that time.”

Roussin was joined by Manitoba Premier Brian Pallister and Lanette Siracusa, provincial lead, health system integration, quality and chief nursing officer for Shared Health.

In the March 17 briefing, Roussin said Manitoba was acting aggressively against the virus.

“I want to confirm that we’re not aware of any cases in our schools or daycares and we have not seen evidence of community based transmission in Manitoba,” he said.

"We know that based on experience of other jurisdictions, the risk is expected to increase in Manitoba and we're taking these moves in an abundance of caution.”

Provincial officials said there were no plans to close schools before the province's announcement last week, but they encouraged parents to take their kids out of classes earlier if they are able to organize child care. Schools are prohibited from holding assemblies or any large gathering and have cancelled all extracurricular activities.

“People who are able to remove their children can and we’re giving time to those who can’t,” Roussin said.

The province is also preparing to keep some daycares open past March 20 to provide childcare for frontline service providers.

Pallister said he has been in contact with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and has advocated additional measures be put in place to help Indigenous communities.

“Northern, isolated communities should not be forgotten,” he said.

Thompson, The Pas and Flin Flon were the first communities in Manitoba outside of Winnipeg to open COVID-19 testing sites. The test site in Thompson was opened March 16, while Flin Flon and The Pas sites opened Tuesday.

New testing locations across Manitoba are expected to open throughout the week, with the next site potentially opening March 18 in Steinbach.

Roussin emphasized people without symptoms will not be tested.

“These are not walk-in clinics,” Roussin said.

“Patients are asked to call Health Links, who will be able to assess whether testing for COVID-19 is necessary.”

Roussin said more than 1,700 COVID-19 tests have been conducted in Manitoba as of March 16.

In addition to more testing, Manitoba is upgrading their Health Links-Info Santé phone service. Siracusa said over 2,000 people called the hotline March 16, with an average wait time of nearly three hours. The province has introduced an online screening tool through Shared Health and screening phone questions to help reduce wait times.

Those with potential COVID-19 symptoms are encouraged to call Health Links–Info Santé or visit www.sharedhealthmb.ca/covid19/screening-tool.

“We all have a role to play,” Pallister said.

“We are not helpless against this virus.”

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