Winnipeg Free Press

Winnipeg Free Press (Newspaper) - September 5, 2020, Winnipeg, Manitoba C M Y K PAGE A10 A 10 SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 5, 2020 ● WINNIPEGFREEPRESS.COMNEWS I COVID-19 PANDEMIC We offer everything you need for final arrangements in one convenient location, including funeral, cemetery and reception. Start your pre-arrangements now Single Niche for one person from only $42 monthly* (available at Glen Lawn and Glen Eden only) Cremation lot for two people from only $43 monthly* Companion niche for two people from only $84 monthly* Traditional burial plot for two people from only $103 monthly* *Only applies to specific gardens/structures. 10% min deposit. 48 monthly payments. APR of 3.95%. No credit check. Limited time offer- please check with the cemetery office for more details. Because price matters Glen Eden Funeral Home & Cemetery glenedenmemorial.ca 204-809-8524 Glen Lawn Funeral Home & Cemetery glenlawn.ca 204-809-8534 Chapel Lawn Funeral Home & Cemetery chapellawn.ca 204-809-8517 Arbor Memorial Inc. Unplug. Reconnect with nature Ma nt ar ioC ab in. ca MANITOBA is reporting nine new cases of COVID-19, bringing the prov- incial total to 1,273. Six of the new cases announced Fri- day are in the Winnipeg health region, one is in the Prairie Mountain Health, and two are in Southern Health. The two southern cases do not appear to be connected to Bethesda Place per- sonal care home in Steinbach, site of 13 coronavirus infections and four deaths, the province said in a release. One case, meanwhile, has been iden- tified among staff at Concordia Place, a Winnipeg personal care home, the facil- ity’s website said. In a statement posted Thursday, Con- cordia Place said the staff member had “very limited contact” at the facil- ity, and did not provide direct resident care. The care home describes the risk of transmission as low, but said it is tak- ing precautions to prevent an outbreak — including limiting both indoor and outdoor visits to compassionate reasons only, staff screenings, and modified re- creation activities for residents. Any resident who is symptomatic will be required to isolate, Concordia Place said, and staff in contact with residents will be required to wear personal pro- tective equipment. Concordia Place said it will continue to evaluate restrictions according to the appropriate pandemic response level, currently yellow in Winnipeg, and will reopen visitation after the two-week isolation period is completed if given the all-clear. Elsewhere, two Crown corporations announced face mask use would soon be mandated at their indoor locations. Manitoba Liquor & Lotteries Corp. will require masks in all its facilities as of Sept. 10, including Manitoba Liquor Marts and Winnipeg casinos. Manitoba Public Insurance will begin mandating masks at its service centres, claim centres, and physical damage centre as of Sept. 9. An additional 1,737 laboratory tests for the novel coronavirus were com- pleted Thursday, the province said. The current five-day positivity rate is 1.4 per cent. There are 11 people in hospital with COVID-19, including one in intensive care. There are 422 active cases of the virus in Manitoba. — with files from Larry Kusch julia-simone.rutgers@freepress.mb.ca Twitter: @jsrutgers MANITOBA NDP leader Wab Kinew is calling the Conservative education minister an “anti-vaxxer” following controversial posts the minister made on his personal Facebook account. “It’s bananas to me that Mr. Pallister has an anti-vaxxer in his cabinet,” Kin- ew said in an interview with CBC Fri- day, in a video clip provided to the Free Press by the NDP. “And it’s not just any cabinet minis- ter, this is a guy who is in charge of all the kids going back to school. He’s in charge of their safety and their health.” The NDP leader’s comments came af- ter Kelvin Goertzen, who is responsible for the rollout of health initiatives in Manitoba’s schools, posted a CNN arti- cle about the COVID-19 vaccine to his Facebook wall Thursday night with the caption: “For those who refuse to get a vaccine, that is absolutely your right! And it should be protected. For every- one else...” Several commenters asked Goertzen whether vaccines would be mandatory in Manitoba once one is approved, and whether those who choose not to be vac- cinated will face limitations on travel, public school attendance and other pub- lic appearances. Goertzen stated repeatedly in the comments that vaccines have never been mandatory in Canada or in Mani- toba’s public schools, but left specific restrictions regarding travel or private businesses up to the federal govern- ment and those businesses, respect- ively. “It completely blows my mind that in the middle of a pandemic that Mani- tobans are confronted with these very basic public-health questions,” Kinew told CBC. “In order for us to have confidence in our public-health system being run by this PC government, we ought to have these questions answered, because again, vaccines are one of the most im- portant public-health initiatives ever in the history of humankind.” Kinew pointed to the minister’s re- sponsibility to roll out vaccinations and public safety measures in schools amid widespread concern from the prov- ince’s parents about the safety of send- ing kids back to school next week. Goertzen’s office disputed any sug- gestion he opposes a COVID-19 vac- cine, and pointed to his launches of an- nual flu-shot campaigns and support for high-dose flu vaccines during his time as health minister. “My post was intended to be in- formative about the current state of a COVID-19 vaccination development as reported by the (Centers) for Disease Control and Prevention,” Goertzen said in a statement Friday. “My family and I annually get the flu vaccine and as health minister, I actively participated in the annual vaccination promotion campaign. While I personally support vaccination, I also believe that vaccina- tion should be a personal choice. There has never been a mandatory vaccine in Canada federally or provincially.” Manitoba public health asserts that immunizations, including those in pub- lic schools, are voluntary in the prov- ince. Federal Health Minister Patty Hajdu has confirmed the COVID-19 vaccine, when available, will not be mandatory. Manitoba education minister anti-vaxxer, Kinew charges MIKAELA MACKENZIE / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS FILES RUTH BONNEVILLE / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS FILES Education Minister Kelvin Goertzen posted on his Facebook account: ‘For those who refuse to get a vaccine, that is absolutely your right!’ NDP Leader Wab Kinew says that’s ‘bananas.’ Concordia Place warns worker has virus JULIA-SIMONE RUTGERS Dying of Embarrassment? Difficulty eating or writing in public? Difficulty maintaining eye contact? Blushing, sweating, dry mouth, racing heart in social situations? 204-925-0600 1(800)805-8885 www.adam.mb.ca A_10_Sep-05-20_FP_01.indd A10 2020-09-04 9:14 PM ;