Manitoba’s top doctor and chief nursing officer are expected to discuss COVID-19 modelling through the holiday season at their daily update on the virus Friday.
Dr. Brent Roussin and Lanette Siragusa have scheduled a media briefing for 12:30 p.m. Global News will stream the event live in this story.
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Manitoba reports 12 more coronavirus deaths, 368 new cases Thursday
The press conference will come after Roussin and Siragusa hold an embargoed briefing with reporters to discuss the province’s coronavirus modelling for December.
Manitoba has had a surge of COVID-19 cases this fall and on Thursday health officials reported 368 new cases Thursday and 12 additional deaths.
Roussin has repeatedly said intensive care units are being stretched close to capacity.
As of Thursday, there were 357 people in hospital — up from 351 Wednesday — with 52 people in intensive care due to COVID-19, up one from the day before.
Since March, the province has reported 17,751 cases of the novel coronavirus and 352 Manitobans with the virus have died.
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On Thursday Manitoba Premier Brian Pallister didn’t mince his words as he urged Manitobans to take the pandemic seriously.
At the end of a news conference — after reporters had finished asking questions — Pallister offered harsh words for people who don’t believe the novel coronavirus is a threat.
“If you don’t think that COVID’s real right now, you’re an idiot,” the premier said.
“You need to understand that we’re all in this together.”
Manitoba was facing the highest rate of new coronavirus infections among the provinces until it was surpassed by Alberta last week.
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The province imposed restrictions on public gatherings and business openings Nov. 12, and while the public health orders are scheduled to expire Dec. 11, Roussin said this week the daily cases and hospitalization rates are still too high and some restrictions will remain in place.
He said Thursday health officials are still working on exactly what the next round of restrictions will look like.
–With files from The Canadian Press
Questions about COVID-19? Here are some things you need to know:
Symptoms can include fever, cough and difficulty breathing — very similar to a cold or flu. Some people can develop a more severe illness. People most at risk of this include older adults and people with severe chronic medical conditions like heart, lung or kidney disease. If you develop symptoms, contact public health authorities.
To prevent the virus from spreading, experts recommend frequent handwashing and coughing into your sleeve. They also recommend minimizing contact with others, staying home as much as possible and maintaining a distance of two metres from other people if you go out. In situations where you can’t keep a safe distance from others, public health officials recommend the use of a non-medical face mask or covering to prevent spreading the respiratory droplets that can carry the virus. In some provinces and municipalities across the country, masks or face coverings are now mandatory in indoor public spaces.
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