WINNIPEG -- The province's top doctor continues to hammer home the point that if we want to see the situation with COVID-19 in Manitoba improve, then Manitobans need to follow the current health restrictions.
On Wednesday, Dr. Brent Roussin, Manitoba's chief provincial public health officer, announced 349 new cases and nine new deaths.
He said these numbers are still not sustainable in the province, but pointed to a small ray of light around the cases and restrictions.
"However, we can talk a little bit about the projections that we had, and so projections from a few weeks ago, when we initiated or decided to initiate the further restrictions, our projections were calling for up to 800 cases per day by November 22," said Roussin during the province's daily news conference.
He added that this shows that there have been benefits to the restrictions, but this still isn't where Manitoba should be.
"We can't let up. We still have to get these numbers down. So, we haven't seen the climb that we expected, largely based on the restrictions and Manitobans adherence to a lot of the advice that we have. But we certainly need to get those numbers down quite quickly."
The continued high case count has put a strain on the health-care system, Roussin said, noting that is why it is so vital Manitobans work to lower the cases.
"Our health care providers on those front lines are overwhelmed. These number of cases, (the) number of deaths reported, can't become the norm."
Lanette Siragusa, the chief nursing officer for Shared Health, echoed a similar sentiment.
"Staff are very tired. They're emotionally tired, they're physically tired, and they're scared of what these continual high numbers are going to bring in the future," said Siragusa.
She noted things could be worse right now, but that doesn't mean people should relax and not follow the restrictions.
