Winnipeg Free Press

Winnipeg Free Press (Newspaper) - March 3, 2022, Winnipeg, Manitoba C M Y K PAGE A3 HOURS: Friday, March 18th 2 pm – 9 pm Saturday, March 19th 10 am – 8 pm Sunday, March 20th 11am – 5pm TICKETS AT THE DOOR: $12 Adults $10 Seniors Kids 13 and under: FREE PARKING: Free at Red River Exhibition Place No purchase necessary. Contest deadline is noon on March 11, 2022. Winner(s) will be contacted by phone or email and must correctly answer a time-limited, skill testing question to claim their prize. Employees of the Winnipeg Free Press and participating sponsors are not elegible to win. This information is used only by the Winnipeg Free Press and is not sold, bartered, traded or gived to any other parties. Sponsored by Get all the details at www.lakeandcabinshow.ca BOATS, BUILDERS, DECKS, DOCKS, SHEDS AND SUNROOMS, COMMUNICATION SERVICES, WATER SYSTEMS, INDOOR AND OUTDOOR DÉCOR SPECIALISTS, FURNITURE, SOLAR, SPAS, ARTISAN MARKET AND SO MUCH MORE! MARCH 18th, 19th & 20th at the Red River Exhibition Place–3977 Portage Ave., Wpg., MB EVERYTHING YOU NEED FOR YOUR COTTAGE PROJECT FROM CONCEPT TO COMPLETION, ALL IN ONE PLACE! ENTER TO WIN Passes for 4 at winnipegfreepress.com/contests 12th ANNUAL COVID-19 PANDEMIC ASSOCIATE EDITOR NEWS: STACEY THIDRICKSON 204-697-7292 ● CITY.DESK@FREEPRESS.MB.CA ● WINNIPEGFREEPRESS.COM A3 THURSDAYMARCH 3, 2022 COVID-19AT A GLANCE Cases: MANITOBA Confirmed: 131,193 Resolved: 119,735 Deaths: 1,682 Active: 9,776 (As of noonWednesday) CANADA Confirmed: 3,296,503 Resolved: 3,148,202 Deaths: 36,638 Active: 111,663 (As of 9 a.m. Wednesday) The latest fromManitoba: ● Provincial health officials reported two deaths Wednesday, and a slight increase in hospitalizations. There were 464 people being treated for COVID-19 in hospital, including 30 in intensive care. The province’s pandemic death toll is 1,682. The five-day test positivity rate provincewide is 13.7 per cent. There were 163 cases of COVID-19 reported, though the province is no longer tracking the majority of positive cases because Mani- tobans using rapid tests can’t report their results. ● The Manitoba government has introduced legislative amendments to the Health Services Insurance Act and the Pharmaceutical Act to extend COVID-19-related provisions for testing and virtual meetings. The amend- ments would allow point-of-care COVID-19 testing to be done by pharmacists and enable other professions to do so, if permitted under the Regulated Health Professions Act. The current order under the Emergency Measures Act expires in April. 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: ● A court challenge by two Ontario churches over the province’s COVID-19 restrictions has been dismissed. During a three-day hearing, lawyers for the Church of God in Aylmer, Ont., and the Trinity Bible Chapel in Waterloo, Ont., argued public health restrictions infringed on the freedom of religion and assembly under the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. They asserted that gathering limits on religious services were unnecessary, arbitrary and too broad. The province argued the measures were in line with the charter, pointing out the freedoms provided, under section 1, are subject ‘only to such reasonable limits prescribed by law as can be demonstrably justified in a free and democratic society.’ Ontario Superior Court Justice Renee M. Pomerance wrote she was satisfied the limits on gatherings were justified as reasonable limits. Jason Reaume, pastor of Trinity Bible Chapel, said the church might appeal the decision. ● Republican Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis admonished a group of students for wearing face masks at an indoor news conference Wednesday, saying it was time to stop what he called “COVID theatre.” DeSantis has stridently opposed to virus mask and vaccine mandates. During the event, he approached the students and asked them to remove their masks. The incident drew criticism of DeSantis over social media. Quote: “We’re moving to a more endemic stage. We never had an order or law in place in relation to any other infec- tion, per se, prior to this…We need to learn to live with and understand (COVID-19) is a part of our lives.” —Dr. Jazz Atwal, deputy chief provincial public health officer ofManitoba, on the endof restrictions MANITOBA asking the federal gov- ernment to extend the deployment of Red Cross nurses is at odds with the province ditching COVID-19 public health restrictions and its plans to re- turn to normal, critics say. “When the Red Cross is being called in, there’s been an ongoing crisis,”NDP health critic Uzoma Asagwara said. On Tuesday, Emergency Prepared- ness Minister Bill Blair announced a request for federal assistance from Manitoba was being met and the Red Cross was to “help fulfil short-term, ur- gent needs and address staffing short- ages.” His announcement came the same day the province cancelled the proof of vaccination against COVID-19 re- quirement for indoor dining and other non-essential services. On Wednesday, the province an- nounced those who test positive for COVID-19 will soon no longer be re- quired to self isolate. Starting March 15, masks will no longer be required at most indoor public places. However, now is not the time to loos- en restrictions, critics charge. “The reality is hospitals are still un- der strain,” Asagwara said. A provincial spokesperson said the request to the federal government was for continued support from three Red Cross nurses already working at Health Sciences Centre. The trio will stay until mid-March “to augment Manitoba’s COVID-19 response.” While Manitoba’s COVID-19 case counts and hospitalization numbers continue to trend downward, its ICU and acute care centres continue to be a few weeks behind those trends. A front-line health-care profession- al at a Manitoba hospital told the Free Press they were alarmed the province continues to need federal nursing help, and worried another pandemic wave may be coming. “The Red Cross announcement sur- prised me, as I thought that they would have been sent back prior to the loosen- ing of restrictions,” the staff member, who agreed to comment on the condi- tion of anonymity, said Wednesday. The source said they’re once again being called back to work on their days off — a move that had seemed to peak in early January. “Call-backs have picked up again, including ones related to COVID,” the worker said. “This has me concerned, with the new sub variant in the province com- bined with our low vaccination rate and, now, no restrictions. I hope this is just a blip. Short staffingmakes it hard- er and harder to manage each surge.” Health Minister Audrey Gordon told reporters decisions to loosen restric- tions are based on COVID-19 indica- tors that are being closely monitored. Premier Heather Stefanson said the province is in a “transition phase” in its hospital system, as COVID-19 cases de- crease and staff are redeployed to their home units. The request for an extension of the Red Cross nurses at HSCwas to ensure there is a “continuity of care,” the pre- mier said. Meantime, advocates said lifting restrictions while hospitals are under- staffed is “wrongheaded.” “Masking and vaccine mandates are popular and effective strategies, and to be getting rid of strategies like that while you are still in the midst of call- ing for help from the federal govern- ment just strikes us as wrongheaded,” Manitoba Health Coalition director Thomas Linner said. “We know we have a chronic under- staffing, whether or not there are Red Cross nurses,” Linner said. carol.sanders@freepress.mb.ca Province’s request to RedCross called revealing CAROL SANDERS D EMAND for COVID-19 boostershots has plummeted in Mani-toba, and the massive surge of infections this winter could be partly to blame. Chris Chuckry was among the tens of thousands of Manitobans who caught COVID-19 late last year as the high- ly contagious Omicron variant ripped through the province. The college in- structor in his mid-50s was forced to cancel his booster appointment after getting infected. And he’s still waiting. Chuckry is following the recommen- dation made by federal and provincial public health officials to wait three months after infection before get- ting boosted. He’s rebooked for mid- March. He believes there are other Manito- bans who are eager to get boosted, but are following government recommen- dations to hold off in favour of greater protection. “I was a little disappointed, but it makes sense,” Chuckry said, adding catching COVID-19 hasn’t changed his opinion on immunization. “If it was available to me earlier, I would have definitely gotten it earli- er.” To date, 52.8 per cent of Manitobans 18 and older have opted for a third dose of the COVID-19 vaccine, compared to the more than 87.7 per cent of adults who have been double vaccinated. Boosters became widely available to adults on Nov. 10, with public health officials recommending third doses six months after a person’s second shot, particularly for those at increased risk of serious illness, their caregivers and close contacts. Since then, more than 580,300 peo- ple have received a third dose, with the highest number of boosters recorded on Dec. 29, when 17,907 were deliv- ered. However, the province has averaged just over 700 booster shots per day in the past two weeks. A combination of factors, including recent mass infection, government messaging on booster shots and pan- demic fatigue, have all likely played a role in slowing booster uptake, public health experts say. Governments and public health units will face significant challenges in en- couraging third doses as public health measures are eliminated, said Michelle Driedger, University of Manitoba pro- fessor of community health sciences. “Certainly, some people only got their vaccines because of mandates,” said Driedger. “When we start see- ing the removal of restrictions… that already is going to be taking off a lot of the emphasis on the importance of vaccines.” On Wednesday, deputy chief pro- vincial public health officer Dr. Jazz Atwal said uptake of third doses has been strong among the most vulnerable Manitobans, with just over 70 per cent of people 50-plus boosted. “A lot of people have gotten that third dose,” said Atwal, one day afterManito- ba lifted its vaccination mandates. Atwal noted there may still be a num- ber of Manitobans waiting for the re- quired five to six months to pass before getting a third dose, but did not have those numbers readily available. A request for comment from vaccine task force lead Dr. Joss Reimer was not returned by deadline. Driedger argued there has not been enough public messaging to support booster uptake, including sharing in- formation about the protection offered by boosters compared to natural infec- tion, as restrictions are eliminated in Manitoba. The removal of the mask mandate and other protective measures further downplays the risk of COVID-19 despite strong public health recommendations to get vaccinated and continue to mask up while indoors, she said. “Those messages still have to be there about the importance of vaccines even though we are having now to learn with it,” Driedger said. “Part of learning to live with it is still following those recommendations. It’s not something, just because we’re tired of it, that we can ignore.” danielle.dasilva@freepress.mb.ca Demand for booster shots stalls DANIELLE DA SILVA High COVID rates in Manitoba this winter could be contributing factor DANIEL CRUMP / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS FILES Chris Chuckry caught COVID-19 late last year andmust wait until mid-March to receive his third dose of the Moderna vaccine. A_03_Mar-03-22_FP_01.indd 3 2022-03-02 9:54 PM ;