Despite easing pandemic restrictions, Manitoba physicians say COVID-19 still poses a significant risk.
“I don’t want Manitobans to think we’re out of the woods,” said Dr. Kristjan Thompson, president of Doctors Manitoba, in a press conference.
“It’s a virus. It doesn’t care about government policies, it doesn’t care about borders. It is a virus that is deadly. It will continue to infect. It will continue to mutate and evolve. There still may be future variants that we might have to deal with.”
Even with COVID-19 transmissions declining, a lot of Manitoba’s hospitals are still over capacity.
“There are a lot of patients who are seen by a physician, seen by a consultant and who are admitted to the hospital. But there are no beds upstairs,” said Dr. Thompson.
“And so they wait in the E.R. for hours, sometimes even days, until a bed becomes available.”
Health officials are encouraging Manitobans to keep up the safety measures, policy or not.
It’s recommended that everyone still wears their masks, get vaccines and reconnects with friends slowly to minimize risk.
“We have been in communication with government on many, many issues, including COVID-19,” said Dr. Thompson.
“But at the end of the day, it’s a government decision and a government policy. But regardless of what that policy is or what restrictions are in place, our message has stayed the same and it will not change that.”