COVID-19 Daily updates - Tuesday, Mar. 31
- Details
- Published on Tuesday, March 31, 2020
1:25 p.m. Seven new COVID-19 cases in Manitoba
Public health officials advise seven additional cases of COVID-19 have been identified as of 9:30 a.m., bringing the total number of lab-confirmed positive and probable positive cases in Manitoba to 103 at this time.
The data also shows:
• three individuals are currently hospitalized including two in intensive care,
• four individuals have recovered from COVID-19, and
• the total number of deaths reported in Manitoba remains at one.
Public health officials have also confirmed that a staff member at Selkirk Regional Health Centre has tested positive for COVID-19. This individual worked in the health centre’s emergency department and medicine ward from March 19 to 23. Public health, occupational health and infection prevention and control staff are working together to investigate this case and followup with all identified close staff and patient contacts.
Public health will directly contact people who had prolonged (more than 10 minutes), close (within two metres) contact with the individual when symptomatic. These individuals will be required to self-isolate for 14 days from the date of last exposure and monitor for symptoms.
Dates and times of possible exposure include:
• March 19 from 7:45 a.m. to 4 p.m. in the Selkirk Regional Health Centre Emergency Department;
• March 20 from 7:45 a.m. to 4 p.m. in the Selkirk Regional Health Centre Emergency Department;
• March 21 from 7:45 a.m. to 4 p.m. in the Selkirk Regional Health Centre Emergency Department;
• March 22 from 11:45 p.m. to March 23 7:45 a.m. in the Selkirk Regional Health Centre Emergency Department.
11:19 a.m. In-school classes in Manitoba suspended indefinitely
At the advice of the chief provincial public health officer, Manitoba is suspending classroom learning for Kindergarten to Grade 12 students indefinitely for this school year to help ‘flatten the curve’ and reduce the impact of COVID-19 throughout the province, Premier Brian Pallister and Education Minister Kelvin Goertzen announced today.
“We must do everything we can to flatten the COVID curve and protect the health and well-being of all Manitobans,” said Pallister. “The decision to suspend classroom learning in school indefinitely for this school year is the easiest decision to make because it protects our children and their education – it is the right thing to do.”
The suspension of in-school classes follows the province’s announcement on Mar. 13 that they would be suspended at all Kindergarten to Grade 12 schools through Apr. 10. This new step to extend the suspension is being taken with the interests of students, educators and all Manitobans in mind, the premier noted.
No student will be held back due to the COVID-19 pandemic, but students must actively engage in learning. All students on track to graduate will do so. Teachers will teach remotely, assign work, conduct assessments and prepare final report cards. For students in Grade 12, provincial exams will be cancelled, but teacher assessments will be implemented. For students in early and middle years, provincial assessments are complete for the current school year, but other assessments will continue.
“The efforts and success Manitoba teachers and educators have displayed during this public health pandemic have been inspiring,” said Goertzen. “I join all Manitobans in asking educators to continue doing all they can to use remote and innovative methods to teach students through the remainder of this school year. Our government is asking for an all-hands-on-deck approach, with their assistance and with that of parents, caregivers, principals, trustees and superintendents for the benefit of all students.”
Child-care centres located in schools will continue to operate under the current conditions set out by the chief provincial public health officer. The overall plan is oriented toward the future and we will learn how to modernize education through our response to this situation, Goertzen said. The combined efforts are geared toward the reopening of classrooms, as well as toward multifaceted ways to teach and to learn after COVID-19, he added.
The province continues to rely on the recommendations of the chief provincial public health officer and encourages all Manitobans to engage in good social distancing protocols, including practising the 3Ps – protect yourself, protect your loved ones and protect your community.
9:15 a.m. Dauphin COVID-19 testing site confirmed
A new COVID-19 community testing site location in Dauphin has opened at the Manitoba Public Insurance (MPI) service centre. The hours of operation will be 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., seven days a week. You must be referred to the site for testing. These sites are not walk-up or drive-up medical clinics.
The site was reassessed over the weekend to ensure it was an appropriate location for a community testing site. That reassessment found the site meets, if not exceeds, existing criteria.
