The pandemic response did not have to be as bad as it was in Manitoba

 As I point out in the article which appeared in the Winnipeg Free Press's Community Review - West edition for January 26, the pandemic response in Manitoba could have been handled much better than it was.  To make it easy to read, I put the text of the article and three graphs below.

Pandemic Response did not have to be this way

In my younger days, flying aerial surveys in northern Saskatchewan and Manitoba, for bald eagles, I learned from bush pilots the importance of thinking ahead so you don't put your plane in a difficult or dangerous situation.   This lesson also applies to pandemic response. 

As I write this article, hospitalizations and ICU patient numbers are climbing in Manitoba.  The government does not appear to have an adequate plan to deal with these rapidly increasing numbers. 

Emergency rooms are full and overflowing with patients who cannot be admitted to hospital because there is no room.  If the numbers were to suddenly reverse somehow, we might be OK, but with the numbers increasing there is no obvious way out. 

The government began the pandemic with reduced surge capacity after closing three intensive care units in Winnipeg.  If these closures had not occurred, we would have had more capacity to handle COVID patients in our ICUs.

Today, Manitoba has one of the highest per capita death rates of all provinces (graph below), partly due to poor preparation in long term care homes, and partly due to poor preparation elsewhere.  

The government was reminded many times that long term care facilities required adequate staffing, proper training and a rapid-response team ready for outbreaks.

As we approached the 2021-2022 winter season, we called for a vigorous effort to improve ventilation in schools as scientific studies have shown this is effective in reducing the spread of COVID-19.  Sadly, not nearly enough has been done. 

Last year, we and others repeatedly called on the government to do better in using and distributing rapid tests.   

Throughout the pandemic, nurses on the front lines have been particularly affected.  The province should have worked more closely with nurses and ensured improved working conditions.

Further, for a premier to say to us "it's up to Manitobans to look after themselves," is not the leadership Manitobans deserve. 

While the government says it is leaving things to Manitobans, my team in River Heights is still working hard and doing everything we can to help people.  My office can be reached at jon.gerrard@leg.gov.mb.ca or by phone at 204-945-5194. 

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The graphs below show the number of people in hospital or in ICU with COVID-19 as of January 28,2021 by province.   The third graph shows the total number of deaths from COVID-19 by province.  Manitoba had the highest number of people hospitalized of all provinces and the second highest number of people in ICU and the second highest death rate of all provinces.