A Winnipeg epidemiologist is urging people to be vigilant this Easter long weekend as COVID-19 variants of concern remain a threat.
Cynthia Carr, founder of EPI Research, said there is a race between the variants and the vaccines and people getting together for the holiday will only help the variants get ahead.
“It’s really important at this time to really be cautious,” Carr said. “For Easter, my recommendation would be that if you would like to see people, consider going outside but please keep those layers of protection on, keep your mask on, keep your distance.”
Currently, Manitoba allows people to have those in their designated bubble visit.
While Carr suggests gathering outside, she said anyone choosing to gather for a meal indoors should consider keeping their masks on as much as possible.
Premier Brian Pallister urged Manitobans to stay safe at a Thursday press conference.
“We know what Thanksgiving did,” Pallister said. “We’ll never forget it, none of us should ever forget it and we don’t want a repeat here this weekend, so please be careful.”
At the time of last Thanksgiving, Manitoba wasn’t dealing with the more contagious variants of concern.
Although the variant cases in Canada’s middle province are lower than in many other provinces, Carr said that could easily change.
“It doesn’t take much for those variants of concern to take over.”