Winnipeg Free Press

Winnipeg Free Press (Newspaper) - March 1, 2022, Winnipeg, Manitoba C M Y K PAGE A3 COVID-19 PANDEMIC ASSOCIATE EDITOR NEWS: STACEY THIDRICKSON 204-697-7292 ● CITY.DESK@FREEPRESS.MB.CA ● WINNIPEGFREEPRESS.COM A3 TUESDAY MARCH 1, 2022 COVID-19 AT A GLANCE Cases: MANITOBA Confirmed: 130,813 Resolved: 119,745 Deaths: 1,680 Active: 9,388 (As of 12:30 p.m. Monday) CANADA Confirmed: 3,283,537 Resolved: 3,131,221 Deaths: 36,537 Active: 115,779 (As of 8 a.m. Monday) The latest from Manitoba: ● Public health officials reported five new COVID-19 deaths Monday and another drop in hospitalizations. A total of 474 patients are being treated for COVID-19 in hospital, a decline of 39 from Friday. Thirty are in intensive care. The province announced 111 new infec- tions Monday. The province is no longer tracking the majority of positive COVID-19 cases because Manitobans using rapid tests are not required to report their results. The five-day test positivity rate province-wide is 16.7 per cent. Vaccine eligibility: ● First- and second-dose vaccinations are available for all Manitobans over five years of age. Third dose shots are now available to all Manitoba adults. Check eligibility criteria and recommended time frames between doses at wfp.to/eligibility. Appointments can be booked online at wfp.to/bookvaccine or by calling 1-844-626-8222. The latest from elsewhere: ● Eased border restrictions came into effect Monday morning, lifting the requirement for fully vaccinated travellers to take a pre-departure COVID-19 molecular test. The federal government announced earlier this month that double-vaccinated air and land travellers no longer need to present a negative molecular test result, such as a PCR test before departure for Canada. Unvaccinated children under 12 also no longer need to self-isolate upon return to the country, and Ottawa has lifted its blanket advisory against trips abroad. Potentially cheaper and easier-to-access rapid antigen tests administered by a health professional remain mandatory for Canadians 12 and over who want to avoid quarantining at home for 10 days upon return to the country. ● Saskatchewan has become the first province in Canada to lift all COVID-19 restrictions as it moves to treat the virus like a common respiratory illness. The Saskatchewan Party government on Monday removed its two remaining pandemic health orders, which included mandatory masking in indoor public places and a requirement to self-isolate for five days if positive for the infection. The province scrapped its vaccine passports on Feb. 14. ● New Zealand is ending a requirement that incoming travellers isolate themselves as it continues to remove coronavirus border protections in the face of a growing domestic outbreak. Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern on Monday said the requirement that vaccinated travellers isolate for a week after arriving would end on Wednes- day. Initially the changes will apply only to returning New Zealanders, as tourists are still not allowed to visit. Travellers will still need to test negative for the virus before leaving and after arriving. Quote: “Booster shots are extremely protective against hospitalizations. The best thing we can do for ourselves, and reduce pressure in the health-care system, is to get boosted.” — Dr. Saqib Shahab, Saskatchewan’s chief medical health officer, continues to encourage booster shots as the province becomes the first in the country to lift its remaining COVID-19 restrictions on Monday VAX PROOF ● FROM A1 “We don’t want to put our staff in a situation where they may encounter verbal abuse,” she said. Like others who spoke to the Free Press, May doesn’t want to upset her customers. “You’re kind of damned if you do or damned if you don’t,” she said. “We hope people will trust businesses to do the right thing and not give people a hard time whichever way they choose to go. Everybody is trying to do their best.” Jay Kilgour, owner of two Fionn MacCool’s pubs in Winnipeg, said the decision to stop asking for proof was a “tough” one. He said his pubs have received “threatening” phone calls from man- date opponents, telling them to “make the right decision” and allow unvacci- nated customers. His staff are relieved they no longer have to ask for cards or QR codes. “We’re all just a little tired,” he said. “Everybody should be respectful, re- gardless of where they stand on it.” In Winkler, King’s Deli Market & Eatery is reopening today after closing its dining room and switching to take- out when the mandate began. Mandates are a divisive issue in the southern city, which has the sec- ond-lowest vaccine uptake by Manito- ba health district. The restaurant did not want to contribute to the split or upset staff. “Our messaging throughout the pan- demic is: somebody has to engage with both sides,” said King’s Deli owner Colton Schiller. “We’ve been trying to bridge those gaps.” Just 43.4 per cent of eligible Win- kler residents have had two doses of a vaccine, as of Monday. Eighty-two per cent of eligible Man- itobans have had two shots; a total of 43.8 per cent have had three. Tim Hortons, The Forks Market, Manitoba Liquor & Lotteries Corp. casinos, City of Winnipeg facilities, GoodLife Fitness and Cineplex the- atres are among the public places no longer asking for proof of vaccination. At hospitals such as Health Sciences Centre in Winnipeg, essential care partners and general visitors are not being asked to show proof. Some businesses haven’t dropped the requirement. Hockey fans will need to show proof to attend Winnipeg Jets and Manitoba Moose games at Canada Life Centre until April 30. Some concert venues plan to temporarily keep vaccine and mask requirements. Scott Jocelyn, president and chief ex- ecutive officer of the Manitoba Hotel Association, said some of its members indicated they may continue asking for proof of vaccination. The Manitoba Chambers of Com- merce surveyed 440 employers last week, and 48 per cent said they will stop asking for vaccination proof. Twenty-nine per cent said they would still ask for proof from a combination of customers, clients and/or staff; 23 per cent were undecided. As for masks, 42 per cent said they will not ask staff or customers to wear one after March 15. Winnipeg Chamber of Commerce president and CEO Loren Remillard said many of its members are taking a “wait-and-see approach” regarding proof of vaccination, as owners are worried about backlash. “I imagine you’re going to see a 50-50 split come the first few days,” he said. “In a few weeks after that, you will see more no longer asking for proof of vaccination.” After hearing from customers on both sides, Promenade Cafe and Wine in St. Boniface is closed for a week to see how things play out. “We don’t know which way we’re going to go,” said owner Shawn Brand- son. Manitoba Premier Heather Stefan- son and chief provincial public health officer Dr. Brent Roussin announced Feb. 11 the province was speeding up plans to end restrictions. “It’s time for a new normal to begin in Manitoba,” Stefanson said that day. Manitoba moved to the yellow (caution) alert level on its pandemic response Feb. 15, and no longer has restrictions on gathering sizes. Close contacts of a person who tests positive are no longer required to self-isolate. Winnipeg critical care physician Dr. Doug Eyolfson is “very nervous” about today’s changes, saying there’s “no practical reason” to lift proof of vaccination requirements. “I think (the province) is doing too much too soon,” the former Liberal member of Parliament said. Scrapping the mandate for health- care staff is “profoundly dangerous and irresponsible,” he said, adding it’s difficult to predict how it could impact the health-care system due to a lack of testing and tracing. “We won’t know unless more patients come in to the hospital and ICU (inten- sive care unit).” Manitoba Child Care Association president-elect Lynda Raible said daycare centres are grappling with whether to keep a proof of vaccine requirement. “There’s lots of apprehension about letting down our guard with some of our most vulnerable population,” she said. “It’s a difficult spot to be put in. You want to do right for the families.” A survey of MCCA members found 38 per cent will continue to ask staff to show proof of vaccination or undergo regular testing. chris.kitching@freepress.mb.ca Twitter: @chriskitching A S Manitoba prepares to lift COVID-19 mandates for direct care employees, those who work with some of the most vulnerable say they’ll continue to do all they can to keep people safe. On the eve of lifting the requirement such workers be fully vaccinated or undergo regular testing for COVID-19, CancerCare Manitoba issued a state- ment, saying more than 98 per cent of its staff are fully vaccinated and it remains committed to providing “high-quality care in an environment that is safe for patients and staff.” Staff are not to come to work if they are sick, said the Monday statement from CancerCare, which declined a request for an interview. Staff and pa- tients will continue to be screened for symptoms and everyone — staff and patients — will continue to wear med- ical-grade personal protective equip- ment, it said. At CancerCare sites, physical distanc- ing measures are being maintained, as well as those that keep the volume of traffic inside them reduced. “Cancer patients should be reassured by these measures which continue to be place,” the statement said. On Feb. 24, Health Minister Audrey Gordon announced the requirement for proof of vaccination or regular testing would lifted for all provincial direct-care workers, starting March 1. The move would help to restore some “normalcy” and help in “bridging some divides that have been created through- out this pandemic,” Gordon said. Jan Legeros, executive director of the Long Term & Continuing Care Associ- ation of Manitoba, said members were advised and had an opportunity to com- ment on the requirement being lifted. “The majority of staff are fully vac- cinated,” Legeros said in an email Mon- day. “I know that our members would still like to see mandatory vaccinations for all staff and many have implement- ed this policy.” Precautions, such as screening, will occur upon entry at facilities and masks will still be worn, Legeros said. The majority of residents are ful- ly vaccinated and have had a booster shot, she said. COVID-19 cases during the most recent wave of the pandemic caused fewer tragic results, she added. “Of course, we know what to do now and what to look for,” Legeros said. “There is also monoclonal antibody treatment and the oral Paxlovid, as well.” However, lifting the requirement for direct care workers to be vaxxed or get tested is “a huge mistake,” said Eddie Calisto-Tavares, an advocate for families of care home residents. Her fa- ther died in November 2020, during an outbreak at Maples personal care home in Winnipeg before COVID-19 vaccines became available. “Science has proven that vaccines work and allowing unvaccinated indi- viduals to access long-term care and personal care homes and exposing our most vulnerable cohort” — seniors with multiple health issues — to the unvacci- nated is “negligence” and “abuse,” she said Monday. Calisto-Tavares said it is “heart- breaking” politicians and public health officials have chosen not to continue with a requirement that protects those in long-term care. carol.sanders@freepress.mb.ca Direct care sector preps for employee rules change CAROL SANDERS JESSICA LEE / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS Sachit Mehra, owner of East India Company, says his staff took ‘no issue’ with the decision to drop proof-of-vaccination rules. ‘We’re all just a little tired. Everybody should be respectful, regardless of where they stand on it’ — Jay Kilgour, Fionn MacCool’s owner MIKAELA MACKENZIE / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS FILES A_03_Mar-01-22_FP_01.indd 3 2022-02-28 9:45 PM ;