Removal of Manitoba COVID-19 data portal alarms epidemiologist

Manitoba’s COVID-19 data portal has been the source of daily case counts, hospitalizations and deaths throughout the pandemic, but it’s now been deleted.

It comes after more than two weeks since Manitoba dropped all of its public health mandates. Guidance was given then for Manitobans to assess the risk of COVID-19 themselves.

Health Minister Audrey Gordon says the decision was made by public health.

“They decide as a public health agency how often they release that information. They’ve now decided it would be weekly because the numbers are trending down, and I support that decision,” Gordon said.

If Manitobans are still looking for information about the current state of the virus, they’ll have to dig deep for weekly epidemiology reports. It requires going to the government website, finding the Manitoba Health category, choosing public health and finally selecting weekly COVID-19 reports.

Experts say the less accessible public health messaging could be dangerous.

“By not sharing information we are suggesting in fact that the crisis is over. It is not over. It’s different. Vaccinations has changed the game profoundly,” says Raywat Deonandan, an epidemiologist and associate professor with the faculty of health science at the University of Ottawa.

“We have extreme distrust of authority figures, distrust of the elite, whoever that may be, distrust of scientists, of media, public health….you don’t win back trust by not sharing what information you have,” he says.

British Colombia continues to post daily COVID-19 updates on their online portal. Saskatchewan updates are similar to Manitoba’s.

Global News requested an interview with the Chief Provincial Public Health Officer, Dr. Brent Roussin, but the province refused. Instead, they said they’ll hold a public health briefing if the situation changes.