Winnipeg Free Press

Winnipeg Free Press (Newspaper) - October 1, 2020, Winnipeg, Manitoba C M Y K PAGE A1 FLYER IN TODAY’S PAPER WINNIPEG SUBSCRIBERS ONLY Retirement Living in Winnipeg With 3 locations to choose from, we focus on providing a personalized retirement living experience in a warm environment, that caters to your unique preferences. Call 204-282-9479 to book your private tour. reveraliving.com Jerry, Anita & Ruth Residents of Revera 645 CENTURY STREET 204.783.4000 bellamodahome.com Does not apply to previous purchases. See store for details. Ends October 18, 2020. GRAND OPENING SPECIAL ON SALE FOR A LIMITED TIME ONLY! CONNECT WITH CANADA’S HIGHEST READERSHIP RATE WEATHER: PARTLY SUNNY. HIGH 8 — LOW 2 ® THURSDAY, OCTOBER 1, 2020 FOUNDED IN 1872 INSIDE EVICTIONS RETURN Emergency order prohibiting landlords from evicting tenants for non-payment ends today / B1 ‘LEARNING EXPERIENCE’ Blue Jays knocked out of MLB playoffs: ‘We just didn’t hit,’ skipper says / C1 TO THE RESCUE COVID testing site opens on Portage Avenue to ease lineups / A3 QUEBEC COVID CRACKDOWN Quebec premier says police can obtain ‘telewarrants,’ enter homes to enforce new lockdown orders / A4 MANITOBA Public Insurance has recorded its second-highest profi t in two decades, explaining its decision to rebate more than $100 million to customers last spring. The Crown corporation had net earnings of $180.2 million in 2019- 20 — $21 million more than the previous year, and highest since a whopping $292.5-million profit nine years ago. In its annual report for the year ended March 31, MPI cred- ited low claims costs and sound overall management and invest- ment decisions for its financial success. According to its critics, the huge profit also reflects the fact Autopac rates have been set too high in recent years. However, only three years ago, the corporation recorded a loss of $85.2 million. MPI said collision rates have been steadily declining over the last few years. The trend contin- ued in 2019-20, with a nearly nine per cent improvement over the previous fiscal year. In April, MPI and the provincial government announced customer rebates totalling $110 million — roughly 11 per cent of what policyholders had paid in the past year in premiums. ● MPI, CONTINUED ON A2 O TTAWA — Health Canada has given the green light to a rapid test for COVID-19 that could be deployed to long-term care homes and schools to take pressure off provincial testing systems. But neither the company nor the federal government will be specific about when the test kits will start ar- riving other than “the coming weeks.” The department posted news Wednesday of the approval of the Ab- bott Diagnostics ID Now test, which can deliver results within 13 minutes of a patient being swabbed, without having to send the specimen to a lab for processing. Approval was granted a day after Public Services and Procurement Canada signed a deal to buy nearly eight million tests from the company, as well as 3,800 of the analyzer units that process results. “Health Canada has delivered on approvals in a rapid way,” Prime Min- ister Justin Trudeau said. It’s not rapid enough for provinces where cases are surging and people are waiting hours in line to get tested, and sometimes more than a week to get their results. Ontario Premier Doug Ford ap- plauded the approval but said he wants to know when the tests will show up and when more approvals will follow. “We would expect them to be deliv- ered as quickly as possible,” he said. “We don’t have a moment to spare as cases continue to rise.” Ford said Ottawa needs to approve even more rapid tests, including those already approved in countries such as the United States. This is the fourth test approved by Health Canada that can be completed outside a laboratory but the first to return results so quickly. One was taken off the list because it didn’t perform well. Another, the Ge- neExpert, has been used in Nunavut, northern Quebec and northern Mani- toba, and produces results in an hour. Health Canada approved the BCube test from Hyris Ltd. in the United Kingdom, on Sept. 23, but has made no deal to buy them. It produces results in about 90 minutes. The ID Now test was approved for use in the U.S. in the spring, and the company said in a written statement Wednesday it has delivered 11 million of them south of the border. “We’re pleased to bring this same point-of-care test to Canada to help slow the spread of COVID-19 in the coming weeks,” the statement said. A spokeswoman for Procurement Minister Anita Anand said 2.5 million tests are to be delivered before the end of the year to the Public Health Agency of Canada. The agency will distribute them to provinces. The tests still need a trained health-care worker to take a swab from a patient’s nose but the portable analyzer units, which weigh less than three kilograms, can be taken nearly anywhere. Health Canada OKs rapid COVID-19 test MIA RABSON AND CASSANDRA SZKLARSKI Kits could be sent to care homes, schools in ‘coming weeks’ ● TESTS, CONTINUED ON A2 ‘RESPONSIBILITY TO HELP’ MIKAELA MACKENZIE / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS Volunteer Susan Care, a retired public health nurse, has been giving her time lately to the Pembina Highway COVID-19 testing site. Retired Winnipeg nurse has been volunteering for more than six months on pandemic front lines / B1 Autopac cruises to $180-M profit LARRY KUSCH ‘Stand down’ Trump walks back refusal to condemn hate group / A10-11 A_03_Oct-01-20_FP_01.indd A1 2020-09-30 10:57 PM ;