Manitoba health officials give coronavirus update Monday
Manitoba’s top doctor and the province’s chief nursing officer will give a COVID-19 update live Monday afternoon.
Dr. Brent Roussin and Lanette Siragusa have scheduled a press conference for 12:30 p.m. Global News will stream the event live in this story.
Over the weekend, Manitoba recorded 633 new cases and another 25 Manitobans died from the virus.
The figures come as the province began scheduling vaccinations for health-care workers after the first doses arrive, expected to happen this week.
Eligible workers were notified on Friday, the province says, and it hopes the first clinic will be operating as soon as Wednesday.
Manitoba says about 900 health-care workers in critical, acute and long-term care units will be first to receive the new Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine.
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Older workers in direct contact with patients as well as those in the clinics will at the front of the line and bookings will be accepted in the order received.
On Sunday, the province reported its booking service had received more than 100,000 phone calls since opening Saturday.
The province says some of the people who called do not meet the eligibility criteria, and they’re asking only people who do meet the requirements phone the booking line.
The province has only shared the phone number for making vaccine appointments internally within the health-care system.
It said additional dates will be added to immunize the priority group as soon as possible, based on the next deliveries of vaccine.
As of Sunday there were 304 people in hospital with COVID-19 in Manitoba, with 43 in intensive care.
Since March, Manitoba has reported 21,023 COVID-19 infections, and 490 Manitobans with the virus have died.
–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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