Today (Wednesday, March 16) at 12:30 p.m. was the last regularly-scheduled COVID-19 update. Going forward, media updates will be scheduled as needed.

Chief Provincial Public Health officer Dr. Brent Roussin made these statements:

 

"It's been more than two years since Manitoba has confirmed its first case of COVID-19 on March 12, 2020. It's difficult to put into words how challenging these last two years have been for Manitobans. We've seen many Manitobans who have lost their lives to COVID-19. Tragically more than 1700 Manitobans have died from COVID-19. For those left behind, for those who have lost other loved ones for other causes, they've been forced to mourn those losses in dramatically different ways, without much of that community of care we often rely on. We've seen others suffer severe outcomes with quite lengthy recoveries. Special occasions, births, birthdays, graduations have gone uncelebrated. We've seen the devastation caused to many Manitoba businesses and to places that we all enjoyed frequently."

"Due to the pandemic and the necessary restrictions, many Manitobans have had their mental health adversely affected. These last two years made it necessary for Manitobans to give up much of what they enjoyed. But through it all, Manitobans stepped up. It limited the spread of the virus. They limited the impact on our health care system to keep all of us safe. We did that by following public health advice, by abiding to public health restrictions and, most importantly, by getting vaccinated. And that vaccine campaign was of unprecedented size and scope."

"But we're certainly at a different place in this pandemic -- a time of transition. And now, in Manitoba, we all know that our public health orders ended earlier this week on March 15th. The Provinces is now under green in the PRS. We've been able to change our approach from strict public health measures to public health recommendations. Guidance is now available online to help support people in their own decision-making to assess their level of risk when it comes to things like mask-wearing, physical distancing, and how many people they're comfortable with gathering along with."

"I've talked a bit about the many harms and losses that were caused by the virus and the pandemic and the public health restrictions. Some of those harms include the divides that were created by the virus and by the restrictions, and those divides are persisting now. We know that COVID-19 very likely will be part of our lives for years to come. So, we can't wait for COVID-19 to be gone before we start our journey of healing."

"The first step on that journey could be as simple as just acknowledging that all Manitobans have undergone a very difficult time over these last two years. That we may not have agreed on the best approach on public health measures and different measures during the pandemic. We may not all agree on the timing of the loosening of the restrictions. But I'm sure we can all agree that all Manitobans have been faced with tremendous challenges and difficulties during these last two years. But we see businesses now some choosing to keep the proof of vaccine, others leaving that in the past."

"Some people will continue to wear masks, others will give that up. For many of these, choices aren't easy. But we sure can make it easier on each other if we show some respect, kindness, compassion, for other people's decisions as we navigate this transition period. Now more than ever is that time for kindness and compassion."

"Throughout this pandemic, Manitobans have been served by a dedicated team of public health experts with very diverse backgrounds. As the chief provincial public health officer, it is my job to listen to their expertise, and to share it with Manitobans, and that's been truly an honour for me, over these last two years. None of this work would have been possible without that tremendous team. Their work has kept Manitobans informed, guided many of our decisions, and found many solutions to very difficult situations."

"The virus certainly isn't done with us, and neither is the help that the Public Health team is going to continue to provide for us. And we're going to continue to actively monitor COVID-19 nationally, in Manitoba, and around the world, and certainly focus on those key indicators that we've all become aware of."

"This is the last formal COVID-19 briefing, but I can assure Manitobans that our work on this virus is not stopping at this point."

 

 

The event was live-streamed at: http://youtube.com/ManitobaGovernment