COVID-19 Weekly Update May 29

May 29, 2020

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Provincial Updates:

Public health officials advise no new cases of COVID-19 have been identified as of 9:30 a.m.

today. The total number of lab-confirmed positive and probable positive cases in Manitoba remains at 294.

• Contact Tracing. The premier says he wants to see a national program to track COVID-19, using contact tracing technology to follow its spread in provinces and across the country.
• Phase Two. Most businesses that were forced to shutter their doors due to COVID-19 will be allowed to start back up Monday under the second phase of Manitoba’s reopening plan, which includes gyms, indoor restaurant spaces and seniors centres.
• Disability Economic Support Program. The province is extending $4.6 million in direct and immediate financial support to low-income Manitobans with disabilities during the COVID-19 pandemic through the new Disability Economic Support Program. More information about the Disability Economic Support Program is available at: manitoba.ca/covid19/infomanitobans/desp.html
• Powwow’s. A Manitoba chief says his community will hold its annual powwownext month even if provincial public health orders continue to limit the size of public gatherings due to COVID-19.
• Approval Rating. Premier Brian Pallister has the lowest approval rating of any premier in Canada during the COVID-19 pandemic, with just 47 per cent of Manitobans giving his leadership a positive review, a new poll suggests.
• A pair of Winnipeg restaurants have been dinged with $2,542 fines for failing to comply with provincial health orders around the COVID-19 pandemic. The Pony Corral on Pembina Highway, south of Chevrier Boulevard, and the Arabesque Hookah Cafe and Restaurant on Corydon Avenue near Hugo Street, were both ticketed on Wednesday, according to a Manitoba health protection report.

For more information and to access the online screening tool for COVID-19, visit www.manitoba.ca/covid19 

Restoring Safe Services: Manitoba’s Pandemic and Economic Roadmap for Recovery is available at www.gov.mb.ca/covid19/restoring/. Businesses with questions about how the new orders apply to them should visit https://engagemb.ca/.

A comprehensive list of Manitoba government COVID-19 measures can be found at:
https://manitoba.ca/bg/2020/04/covid19.html.

Federal Updates:

As of May 29, there were 88,845 confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Canada, including 6,918 deaths.

• Indigenous Communities. Federal Indigenous Services Minister Marc Miller says the federal government will spend another $650 million to help Indigenous communities cope with the COVID-19
• Canada Emergency Commercial Rent Assistance (CECRA). The Prime Minister announced that applications are now being accepted for CECRA for small businesses. Property owners will reduce rent by at least 75 per cent for the months of April and May (retroactive), and June, for their small business tenants. CECRA will cover 50 per cent of the rent, with the tenant paying up to 25 per cent and the property owner forgiving at least 25 per cent.
• Contact Tracing App. The federal government will soon be “strongly recommending” that Canadians download a to-be-determined contact tracing app to help identify any possible contacts of confirmed COVID-19 cases. 
• Global Co-operation. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau led a united call for global co-operation at a major United Nations meeting Thursday aimed at mitigating the devastating social and economic impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic.
• COVID-19 Cluster. Three more COVID-19 cases in northern New Brunswick have been linked to a doctor at a hospital who contracted the coronavirus outside the province and didn’t self-isolate when he returned.
• Nearly three weeks after Quebec reopened primary schools, the province has 41 students and teachers infected with COVID-19, cases that officials say are in line with their expectations about how the virus would appear.
• Kids and COVID-19. Canadian doctors are seeing new cases of a rare inflammatory illness in kids believed to possibly be linked to COVID-19. Clusters of what is called multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children (MIS-C), or pediatric inflammatory multisystem syndrome (PIMS), have been reported.
• Air Canada. The country’s largest airline will offer customers two new optionsfor flights cancelled because of COVID-19: a travel voucher with no expiry or the ability to convert the booking into Aeroplan Miles and receive an additional 65 per cent bonus miles.
• NHL refund. Season-ticket holders will get a rebate or refund optionfrom Canada’s NHL teams as it has become clear no games will be played in arenas packed with fans. 
• Cases pass 88,000. Since the last newsletter, officials confirmed more than 1,800 new cases of COVID-19 in Canada, including more than 500 in Quebec on Thursday alone.
• Scam takedown. The Communications Security Establishment (CSE) has initiated the takedown of more than 1,000 fake websites attempting to scam or misinform people about COVID-19 financial aid programs and obtain personal financial information.
• Worst since 2009. The economy had its worst showing since 2009 in the first quarter, according to Statistics Canada. The gross domestic product (GDP) fell at an annualized rate of 8.2 per cent in the first three months of the year.
• Reopening rollback. New Brunswick was forced to roll back some reopening measures after a new cluster of COVID-19 emerged. Canada’s Chief Public Health Officer, Dr. Theresa Tam, said the province’s case shows that caution is needed when reopening.
• Quebec report. Following a “gut-wrenching” report from the Canadian Armed Forces about the state of Ontario long-term care homes, the military released a similar report about seniors’ facilities in Quebec. The report identified three areas of concern: staff medical training, the proper use of personal protective equipment (PPE), and the management of “hot” and “cold” COVID-19 zonesIndustry Updates:
  Deal struck between 4 First Nations and Manitoba Hydro to end blockades
  On-Site: Gates swing back open at shuttered construction sites, but swift return to normal appears unlikely

   

  Important Provincial Links
  COVID-19 Manitoba Screening Tool

  MB COVID-19 Information and Resources

  COVID-19 Screening Locations

  Important National Links
  Apply for EI
  Government of Canada’s COVID-19 information page
  Travel Advisory Information
  Canada’s Building Trades Union