Winnipeg Free Press

Winnipeg Free Press (Newspaper) - April 11, 2020, Winnipeg, Manitoba -eC MHK PAGE A2 A 2 WINNIPEG FREE PRESS, SATURDAY, APRIL 11, 2020 • WINNIPEGFREEPRESS.COMINSIDE Arts and Life G1 Money Matters C9 Books D2 Careers C11 Classifieds E10-11 Obituaries B1 Comics I7 Opinion A8-9 Destinations I1 Social Page G8 Diversions G6-7 Sports E1 Homes H1 Television C4 Horoscope G4 Weather E12 Jumble D6 Weekend Review D1 Miss Lonelyhearts G4 49.8 F1 COLUMNISTS: Carl DeGurse A9 Dan Lett A14 Tom Brodbeck C2 Mike McIntyre E1 Jerrad Peters E6 Doug Speirs F2 E-EDITION ON EASTER MONDAY On Easter Monday, the Free Press will produce an online version of the paper available in lieu of home delivery and retail sales at winnipegfreepress.com. Canada The Free Press receives support from the Local Journalism Initiative funded by the Government of CanadaWinnipeg free Press VOL 149 NO 151 Winnipeg Free Press est 1872 / Winnipeg Tribune est 1890 2020 Winnipeg Free Press, a division of FP Canadian Newspapers Limited Partnership. Published seven days a week at 1355 Mountain Avenue, Winnipeg, Manitoba R2X 3B6, PH: 204-697-7000 Publisher / BOB COX Editor / PAUL SAMYN Associate Editor Enterprise / SCOTT GIBBONS Associate Editor Operations and Engagement / STACEY THIDRICKSON Associate Editor Digital News / WENDY SAWATZKY Director Photo and Multimedia / MIKE APORIUS ADVERTISING Classified (Mon-Fri): 204-697-7100 wfpclass@freepress.mb.ca Obituaries (Mon-Fri): 204-697-7384 Display Advertising : 204-697-7122 FP.Advertising@freepress.mb.ca EDITORIAL Newsroom: 204-697-7301 News tip: 204-697-7292 Fax: 204-697-7412 Photo desk: 204-697-7304 Sports desk: 204-697-7285 Business news: 204-697-7301 Photo REPRINTS: 204-697-7064 City desk / City.desk@freepress.mb.ca CIRCULATION INQUIRIES MISSING OR INCOMPLETE PAPER? 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READER SERVICE • GENERAL INQUIRIES 204-697-7000Roussin, Siragusa reliable voices in anxious times MELISSA MARTIN OPINION ON a day of encouraging numbers, Manitoba’s chief public health officer, Dr. Brent Roussin, sat in the same place and looked into the same camera and repeated the same message weaved through all his public addresses since the COVID-19 pandemic began. There was a note of optimism Thursday, though. A quiet one, gently played and quickly replaced by the more familiar and sobering motifs of his daily news briefings: now is the time to stay home. Now isn’t the time for big family dinners. Now is not the time to travel, because, once again, now is the time to stay home. “Our efforts are likely showing some benefits here,” Roussin said, after announcing three new cases of COVID-19. On Friday, the number was six, but the message the same. “We need to continue these efforts. We need to double our efforts to continue to keep this curve flat in Manitoba.” Every day for weeks, Roussin has emphasized this last point, or something like it, phrasing and slightly rephrasing the message in stark and simple language. One wonders how many times, over the last month, Roussin has used the two words “stay home.” This is repetition with a purpose, and it is powerful. The key messages in the battle against COVID-19 must blare loud and clear like a trumpet, cutting through the noise. This fight depends on the public buying into the message, and Roussin and Shared Health chief nursing officer Lanette Siragusa are, every day, the ones who must sell it. What a time to be alive, when Canada’s hottest new celebrities are the nation’s top public health officials: folks such as Dr. Theresa Tam in Ottawa, Dr. Bonnie Henry in B.C. and Dr. Deena Hinshaw in Alberta. Whenever a public servant becomes a star, it usually means something in the world is going terribly awry, that the spotlight should fall on them. Case in point: until a month ago, few in Manitoba would have recognized Roussin or Siragusa by name, let alone by sight or even by their voices alone. After the duo’s daily news briefings commenced March 12, they were vaulted almost overnight into a spotlight neither likely fully expected when they chose their line of work. More than any reporter, more even than Premier Brian Pallister, they are the voice of the pandemic, the narrators of the COVID-19 story in Manitoba. The work is no doubt exhausting, and the daily public exposure must amp up the pressure. They are not politicians. They have not spent their lives fielding daily questions, or thinking in soundbites, or courting reporters; for the most part, they have done their work under the surface of what the public can see. Yet, they have handled it with a reassuring calm. It is the media’s job to ask questions until we get answers, which means questions can get repetitive; Siragusa and Roussin have patiently answered them all. To their credit, they haven’t bristled when media queries become pointed, prying, or even contentious. Instead, they have diligently honed and repeated their message, carefully changing its course as knowledge and conditions evolve. The news briefings have become a fact of life in Manitoba, a steady feature of pandemic-disrupted daily routines. Manitobans likely see their faces more than those of friends or family. Of course, their entries in the public discourse have not been universally applauded. There has been active public debate over their decisions, recommendations, and the information they choose to give. This is healthy, where informed. Every response to this crisis will be imperfect, and there will be much to learn. Still, let’s take a moment to be grateful that, at a juncture where the public needs to hear from experts, it has every day heard them without interruption. To his credit, Pallister has largely stayed out of Roussin and Siragusa’s spotlight, and firmly stayed out of their area of expertise. We don’t have to look far to see what can go wrong when those two streams become too deeply muddled. On Thursday, CNN reported U.S. Vice-President Mike Pence had blocked top federal health officials from appearing on the cable network, in what it described as an attempt to pressure CNN to carry the president and vice-president’s daily coronavirus news conferences in full. When those news conferences air, some exchanges are alarming. On Monday, a reporter asked renowned public health expert Dr. Anthony Fauci about the efficacy of a drug being studied that President Donald Trump has touted. Before Fauci could speak, Trump jumped in, all but directing him not to answer the question. The biggest loser, in both of those cases, is the public. Elected officials must govern, and good leadership is needed now more than in generations; but the public health response and communication should be led by the experts. That Roussin and Siragusa have been elevated to local celebrity status here is a healthy sign for the province. Manitoba has lots of time yet to get to know them even better. The pandemic is far from over, and every day, a stressed and anxious public must scour through a chaotic onslaught ofShare your well wishes WE all know how important our healthcare providers will be to winning the war against the coronavirus. So let's show them our appreciation in whatever way you choose. The Free Press is inviting our readers to send us your thoughts and even any images you might have to express your appreciation to our doctors, nurses, aides and everyone else working in our hospitals and nursing homes. Visit wfp.to/heroes to send your message and we will take care of sharing it with our city and province online and in print. information, searching for a clear and reliable voice in the storm. For now, the ones that ring loudest in Manitoba are doing their part to drive home a simple message: stay home. Now is not the time for big family gatherings, or for travel. Now is the time to stay home. melissa.martin@freepress.mb.caSupport o# Health-Care Heroes Misericordia Health Centre is located in the heart of the city, and is at the heart of the response to COVID-19. Front line health-care providers need your support now more than ever. For every $10 donated, an MHC health-care hero will receive a meal voucher for Storm Café Misericordia. Help us help them stay nourished during this time. Thank you to those who have already made a gift to the COVID-19 Relief Fund. There is still an urgent need for support.DONATE NOW Misericordiafoundation.com or 204-788-8458 Misericordia Health ‘Centre FOUNDATION ■e -e- A_02_Apr-11-20_FP_01.indd A2 2020-04-10 8:58 PM ;