Manitoba’s premier and chief public officer of health will give an update on the province’s ongoing fight against COVID-19 Thursday.
Brian Pallister will join Dr. Brent Roussin for a 12:30 p.m. press conference. Global News will stream the event live here.
Read more:
Manitoba reports 11 coronavirus deaths, 400 new cases Wednesday
The press conference comes as Manitoba continues to see rising new case counts and multiple deaths reported daily.
On Wednesday health officials added 400 new cases and said 11 more Manitobans have died from the virus.
Since March, Manitoba has seen 12,007 reported cases and 190 deaths from the coronavirus.
As of Thursday, 7,385 cases remained active, according to provincial data, and the province’s five-day COVID-19 test positivity rate rose to 14.2 per cent.
The entire province was put under level-red restrictions a week ago, closing restaurants, bars, gyms, non-essential retail stores and other facilities.
But under the rules, many big-box retailers have stayed open because part of their inventory includes items listed as essential under provincial health rules.
Read more:
Further restrictions possible as Manitoba businesses find ways to stay open amid lockdowns
All week Roussin has warned that more restrictions may be needed and has criticized stores that are promoting big sales events despite his pleas for Manitobans to only leave their homes if absolutely necessary.
Meanwhile, deadly outbreaks have been declared at dozens of personal care homes and several hospitals across the province.
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.
For full COVID-19 coverage from Global News, click here.