From Emerson to Churchill, Falcon Lake to Russell, and in between, the lives of Manitobanites have been dramatically impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Here’s a look at what’s happened in Manitoba since the first cases of the novel coronavirus emerged in the province.
On March 12, the province announced the first three suspected cases of coronavirus in Manitoba. All three patients — a woman in her 40s and two men in their 30s — were exposed to the virus on a recent trip.
On the same day, two sites opened in Winnipeg.
Other parts of the country had already noticed many cases by this time, adding 59 in Ontario, 17 in Quebec and 53 in British Columbia. Saskatchewan also reported its first suspected case on March 12, and a case involving a child was reported in Calgary.
On March 13, the federal government warned Canadians that they opposed all foreign flights and were restricting inbound flights to slow the spread of COVID-19.
Federal Health Minister Patty Hajdu called the incident “a critique of the lockdown. “
“Given that that’s going to build up over the next few weeks and that we’re at a critical moment to reduce the number of cases, this is the determination that public fitness has given us,” he said.
On the same day, the provincial government announced that in-person categories would be canceled for a week before and after spring break, scheduled for late March and early April.
On March 17, the governments of Canada and the United States agreed to limit non-essential items at the border.
Manitoba also announced that it will postpone all visits to senior apartments to reduce the threat of the virus spreading.
On March 18, the province announced it would postpone visits to intensive care hospitals for the same reason.
On the same day, the federal government announced the first major takeaways of its large relief package to help Canadians and businesses cope with the effects of the pandemic, adding an initial pledge of $27 billion in direct tax deferrals and another $55 billion.
On March 19, Manitoba public health officials announced that a user had been hospitalized with COVID-19 (the first user hospitalized with the disease in the province) and was in good condition.
On the same day, provincial public health chief Dr. Brent Roussin announced that a 30-bed isolation unit would be created by moving an existing medical unit at the Health Sciences Center’s main hospital to the former Women’s Hospital.
On March 20, the province declared a state of emergency due to the COVID-19 pandemic and banned gatherings of more than 50 people. It also closed wellness centers and gyms.
As announced earlier in the week, daycares and preschools closed at the end of the day, but the province announced it would spend $27. 6 million on child care for frontline physical care workers.
Family Minister Heather Stefanson said licensed child care centers will continue to receive their full operating budget and that the province will develop a subsidy program to provide cash to family child care homes with up to 12 children.
While many parents have already withdrawn their children from school, on March 23 schools across the province began a three-week closure (which included spring break) to better promote social distancing.
In an effort for tenants, on March 24, the province froze rent increases and postponed non-urgent eviction hearings in reaction to the difficult economic situations brought on by the pandemic.
The Residential Leases Branch and the Residential Lease Board have postponed all hearings, with the exception of issues such as tenant fitness and protection and illegal activities.
On the same day, Winnipeg school divisions closed playgrounds to slow the spread of COVID-19 in those areas.
On March 26, the province expanded its COVID-19 testing to include nurses, inmates, and symptomatic homeless people.
The federal government has also implemented strict mandatory quarantine rules for returning Canadians, to prevent others who may have been exposed to COVID-19 from spreading it to others.
On March 27, Public Fitness announced the first COVID-19-like death in Manitoba.
The woman, in her 60s, died after being admitted to an intensive care unit in critical condition last week.
“It’s a tragic loss. We have lost a man from Manitoba and our thoughts are his friends and family,” Roussin said that morning.
“But it’s time to act now. Stay home if you can. “
On the same day, the province announced it would deploy to the five busiest provincial border crossings to inform travelers about the threat of COVID-19.
In Ottawa, the federal government announced it would increase its wage subsidy for small and medium-sized businesses to 75 percent, in line with layoffs.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s pay subsidies would be delayed until March 15.
He also said the government would provide small businesses with bank loans of up to $40,000, interest-free for the first year.
“We’re helping corporations keep their staff on the payroll so that staff are supported and the economy can thrive. That’s our priority,” Trudeau said.
On March 27, the province announced that from March 30 public gatherings would be 50 to 10 people.
The city of Winnipeg has said that starting March 28, all of its play and picnic facilities will be closed to comply with the provincial fitness order.
Also on March 28, the Prime Minister announced that other people with COVID-19 symptoms would no longer be able to enter the country by plane or train.
At a press conference on March 29, Trudeau pledged to help children and seniors who struggle to access something essential when they’re stuck at home.
The federal government has pledged a $7. 5 million investment to Kids Help Phone to provide intellectual skills to young people affected by school closures and reduced access to social media and resources.
The federal government has said it will also spend $9 million through United Way Canada to help the nation’s seniors get food, medicine and other necessities.
As of March 30, gatherings were limited to 10 other people in Manitoba.
The province also announced it will limit operations to non-essential businesses in a new public fitness order.
“These measures are measures to limit the transmission of this virus and flatten this curve,” Roussin said.
On March 31, the province announced that categories for K-12 students would be suspended indefinitely for the year.
Teachers will continue to teach remotely, assign homework, conduct exams and prepare report cards, Education Minister Kelvin Goertzen said.
On the same day, the Manitoba Nurses Union proved that a Winnipeg emergency department nurse had tested positive for COVID-19. Darlene Jackson, president of the union, said she believes the nurse contracted the coronavirus while running in the emergency room treating patients who had it.
On April 1, the province’s two-week restriction on non-essential items went into effect.
Roussin also reported that day that a total of four health care professionals had tested positive for COVID-19, including Grace and St. Louis hospitals. Boniface in Winnipeg, as well as an employee of the Selkirk Regional Health Center.
He also said the first symptoms of network transmission are starting to appear in Winnipeg after public health officials were unable to identify the source of transmission in four or five cases in the city.
“We knew we were going to expect it. As more and more cases reach a jurisdiction, network transmission will be inevitable. “
On April 2, the province announced new identified cases of COVID-19.
As of April 29, this remains the highest number of new cases Manitoba has noticed in a single day. As of April 2, another 167 people were suspected or proven to have the coronavirus.
On April 3, public health officials announced that a Winnipeg man in his 50s died from COVID-19 in Manitoba.
The man had an underlying physical condition and had been admitted to an intensive care unit before he died, Roussin said.
“These are difficult times for all of us. We see the number of cases increasing continuously. We are seeing serious consequences, which is very distressing for many Manitobanes,” he said.
“But again, this is the time to be afraid. Now is the time to act. “
The third death was announced four days later, on April 7. Roussin said he was a Winnipeg man in his 60s who had underlying physical problems.
On April 9, Winnipeg Mayor Brian Bowman joined Pallister in announcing that Americans and businesses in Manitoba could be fined for violating the province’s public health orders.
Violating those regulations, which banned public gatherings and gatherings of more than 10 people, forced nonessential businesses to close and required others at outlets to stay six feet apart, could cost Americans $486 and businesses $2,542.
“Unfortunately, there’s a small minority of people doing their part,” Pallister said. “At the end of the day, it is clear that the implementation of the regulations is also necessary. “
On April 10, Roussin announced that a man in his 70s, who had been under intensive care for underlying conditions, was the fourth user with COVID-19 to die.
Before the man was hospitalized, he was in a private nursing home, Roussin said, but the man is not believed to have contracted the coronavirus while there.
On April 15, fitness officials announced that a woman in her 60s from southwestern Manitoba had died after testing positive for the virus.
This is the first disease-like death in Manitoba outside of Winnipeg.
The woman was hospitalized in the Prairie Mountain Health region but was not in intensive care when she died, Roussin said.
VIEW | Manitoba’s Top Doctor on New Public Health Orders:
The next day, April 16, the province announced new public fitness orders requiring others traveling anywhere outside the province, including inland Canada, to isolate for 14 days upon their return.
They also bounded north of the 53rd parallel and in remote communities with no road access in summer.
April 17 was a memorable day for Manitobanes, as it was the first time during the pandemic that more people recovered from COVID-19 than actively showed symptoms.
“It’s thanks to the efforts of Manitobaans . . . who stay home [and] practice social distancing. We’ve noticed some benefits from our collective work,” Roussin said after making the announcement.
He added that he is “cautiously optimistic. “
On April 20, the province announced that a Winnipeg woman in her 80s had died with COVID-19.
“We offer our condolences to his circle of family and friends,” Roussin said.
On the same day, the prime minister announced that he would extend the state of emergency in the province until 18 May.
On April 28, COVID-19 testing was opened to anyone with symptoms, adding the mildest ones.
To meet the anticipated increase in call under the new criteria, the province announced that Ontario-based Dynacare will conduct some testing, in addition to the provincial lab in Cadham.
On April 29, Pallister announced that some public restrictions would be lifted.
He said that starting May 4, a number of non-essential retail and fitness businesses would reopen under strict guidelines. This has opened the door to various services, businesses, and locations, including:
Public gatherings were also limited to a maximum of 10 people.
“Today it’s smart news, and it’s smart news because of you,” Pallister said.
On May 5, the province announced its seventh COVID-19-like death.
The man, approximately 70 years old, suffered from previous health problems and lived in the Southern Health Region.
At one point he was treated in the hospital and intensive care unit, Roussin said.
On the same day, he announced a small cluster of cases at an office in the Prairie Mountain Health region. Pallister later stated that the office was referring to Paul’s Hauling in Brandon, Manitoba.
As of May 11, this organization was made up of 10 people, including the colleagues of those who tested positive and their close contacts.
Most businesses that were forced to close due to COVID-19 were allowed to reopen on June 1 as part of the timing of Manitoba’s reopening plan.
This included gyms, indoor dining rooms, and senior centers, as well as manicures and pedicures, film productions, swimming pools, and a wide variety of other businesses.
The plan envisaged expanding the capacity of daycare centers and allowing canteens, bars, breweries and microbreweries to open at 50% capacity, as long as they can keep consumers six feet apart.
An organization of four transient foreign employees living together tested positive for COVID-19, Roussin announced June 3.
An organization of 18 transient foreign workers from the Southern Health Region divided into three cohorts of six, Roussin said. Each cohort lived in combination and the other four people who tested positive were from the same cohort.
On June 5, Manitoba’s hospitals began allowing more visitors.
For more than two months, he had been barred from all acute care facilities in Manitoba hospitals, with some exemptions, adding compassionate and end-of-life visits.
The new regulations stipulate that the maximum number of patients in hospitals or gyms will be able to designate a user who will only be able to stop at them once a day, with some exceptions for certain patients, including children, other people who are giving birth and those who are at the end of life.
Manitoba reached six days of a new COVID-19 case on June 11.
On June 16, Trudeau announced that the federal government would extend the Canada Emergency Response Benefit (CERB) bills for two more months.
The province announced the third part of its reopening plan on June 21.
The size of gatherings has increased to a maximum of 50 people indoors and 100 outdoors, up to upper limits of 25 indoors and 50 outdoors.
But those limits can be extended if participants can be divided into separate teams that don’t mix. Each subgroup should be able to enter, exit, and participate in the occasion among the others.
Under such systems, indoor gatherings can reach a maximum of 30% of the venue’s capacity, as long as the subgroup has no more than 50 other people. Outdoors, subgroups can have up to a hundred more people per group.
Manitoba previously imposed a mandatory 14-day quarantine for people entering the province, but this requirement was removed for people arriving from Western Canada and Northwestern Ontario (west of Terrace Bay), Phase 3.
This update applies whenever travelers have symptoms or are exposed to the coronavirus.
Daycares were allowed to return to full capacity (compared to the previous maximum of 24) in Phase 3, with some precautions. Families who used the transitional child care program implemented for staff when daycares had enrollment limits would be able to stay. their places until August 31.
Day camps always had up to 50 children per group; Whenever possible, activities will be designed to allow cameras and staff to remain six metres apart.
On July 7, Manitoba set a new record for the number of days a new COVID-19 case was reported in the province.
It’s the seventh day in a row with no new cases.
It was the first time since the first cases of COVID-19 were announced in Manitoba on March 12 that the province had gone a full week without a new case. The province had already twice reached a six-day streak with no new cases.
The era lasted thirteen days, but everything was replaced on July 14 when five new cases, all hospitalized, were announced.
Despite this, the province moved forward with Phase Four of its reopening plan on July 25, allowing for the reopening of cinemas and casinos and the resumption of performances. The next day, six new cases of COVID-19 were announced.
By the end of the month, there were 70 active cases and one more death: a man in his 60s who announced his death on July 28.
An outbreak linked to the Hutterite colonies was announced, and the number of cases eventually reached at least 35. The province temporarily stopped identifying when cases were connected to settlements, after the Hutterites suffered stigma.
People flocked to COVID-19 testing sites, breaking records in a single day. Many were denied access to self-service sites that reached capacity within opening hours.
As of July, 25,312 tests were conducted, the most in a single month.
The number of cases increased in August, with the province setting two records for new cases in a single day (42 on Aug. 22 and 96 the next day) and six deaths.
The total number of instances exceeded 1,000 in the last week of August and the number of active instances reached 469 by the end of the month.
In the middle of the month, the province unveiled a new color-coded formula to allow the government to implement COVID-19 restrictions in regions, communities or express industries in the province.
The province has also begun offering more detailed information on where COVID-19 cases are located in the province by indicating on its online COVID-19 knowledge portal the express districts of its five physical regions where cases have been identified.
In the past five months, fitness officials had posted the main points of cases across the fitness region, most of which cover a wide area.
Manitoba also experienced its worst outbreak at a private nursing home, which inflamed thirteen other people and claimed four lives. Two other people from the Bethesda Place nursing home in Steinbach died in August and two others in early September.
The number of coronavirus-related deaths in the province stands at 16.
There was also an outbreak at Maple Leaf Foods’ red meat processing plant in Brandon, where 70 employees fell ill.
The backlog of cases has led to enhanced measures in the Prairie Mountain Health region of western Manitoba. The domain has been reclassified to the orange, or “restricted,” tier as a component of Manitoba’s new pandemic reaction system.
Mask mandates and hefty fines have been imposed through the director of public health for violators of the rules.
Roussin said he needed to crack down on the spread “before things get out of control” in the southwestern component of the province. This meant returning to the measures that had been in place since the early months of the pandemic.
Roussin warned that people had let their guard down after July’s long period with no new cases and were squandering the “fundamentals” trail.
The five-day positivity rate (a moving average of COVID-19 tests returning) fell from 0 in July to 3. 1% by the end of the month.
Manitoba was the leading country in active instances consistent with capita when network transmissions began.
The province writhed its hands at the prospect of sending students back to school this fall before deciding that categories would resume a series of restrictions.
He dismissed the idea of remote learning and said parents who don’t want to send their children to school sign up for homeschooling.
Students returned on Sept. 8, and it didn’t take long for COVID-19 to set in.
On Sept. 9, the province announced that a seventh-grader at Churchill High School in Winnipeg had tested positive but was asymptomatic. Health officials said the threat to others was low because the student was wearing a mask and maintaining a smart distance.
But the spread of COVID-19 in schools was a threat that many parents did not accept. The province’s most recent figures show an increase of about 25 percent in homeschool enrollment compared to 2019.
The same week that the first case gave the impression that it had occurred in a school, the first case gave the impression that it had occurred in a First Nation in Manitoba. The leader and council of the Fisher River Cree Nation, north of Winnipeg, brought the case to CBC News on Sept. 11.
Two more cases soon followed, in the First Nation of Peguis. And, in mid-September, a proven case locked up the Sagkeeng First Nation.
Cases of COVID-19 continued to appear in Manitoba schools during the first 3 weeks of the school year.
As of Sept. 25, 17 schools across the province had at least one case. The largest outbreak occurred at John Pritchard School in Winnipeg, where at least 26 other people tested positive.
In response, North Kildonan K-8 has referred approximately 250 students to remote learning.
On September 25, a peak of 54 new cases was announced in Manitoba, followed by 44 in Winnipeg. This prompted provincial public health lead Dr. Brent Roussin to position Winnipeg’s metropolitan domain, which includes the city and 17 other surrounding communities, at the orange/restricted spot effective Sept. 28.
This mask is mandatory in all public places and gatherings have been specially reduced and limited to 10.
Within two months, the number of active cases in Manitoba increased from 8 on July 25 to 487 on September 25.
Since the start of Phase 4, Winnipeg has reported 520 new cases. Before that, the city had 248.
With files via Aidan Geary
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