150,000 Disposable Isolation Gowns
And five new cases
The Manitoba government is welcoming the arrival of a large order of personal protective equipment (PPE) to help in the fight against COVID-19, Central Services Minister Reg Helwer announced today.
“Our government has committed $400 million for the COVID-19 Procurement Fund as part of our Manitoba Protection Plan,” said Helwer. “Thanks to our ongoing procurement efforts, we are very pleased to have taken delivery of a substantial order of personal protective equipment for our front-line health-care workers.”
This shipment, which landed in Winnipeg Tuesday afternoon on a chartered Air Canada Boeing 777, contains 150,000 disposable isolation gowns. This order was supplied by SpiritRx Services, a Manitoba-based medical supply company owned by the Spirit Healthcare Group representing the seven tribal councils of Manitoba.
“The Spirit Healthcare Group was pleased to have had the opportunity to work with the Manitoba government,” said Heather Berthelette, CEO, Spirit Healthcare Group, and Chief Dennis Meeches, board chair. “Our First Nations, Manitoba-based company was able to source and supply this much-needed personal protective equipment required by the province.”
“We want to thank all of our partners who helped ensure the successful delivery of this vitally important personal protective equipment,” Helwer said. “Our government will continue to source and acquire the PPE and other supplies needed to keep Manitobans safe and ensure that our province wins in the fight against COVID-19.”
Public health officials advise five new cases of COVID-19 were identified as of 9:30 a.m. today, bringing the total number of lab-confirmed positive and probable positive cases in Manitoba to 262.
The data also shows:
• seven individuals are currently hospitalized, which includes two individuals in intensive care;
• 82 active cases and 174 individuals who have recovered from COVID-19; and
• the number of deaths due to COVID-19 remains at six.
The province advises there was an error in the numbers reported yesterday. The actual total should have been reported as 21,061. As of yesterday, an additional 327 laboratory tests were performed. This brings the total number of tests performed since early February to 21,387.
Public health officials have expanded testing criteria. It is important for people who meet the criteria and are showing even mild symptoms of COVID-19, including a cough, a runny nose, a sore throat and a fever, to be tested to better determine the spread of the virus in Manitoba.
Manitobans are reminded that if they are showing symptoms of COVID-19 and meet testing criteria, they can call Health Links–Info Santé at 204-788-8200 or (toll-free) at 1-888-315-9257 for more information.
For up-to-date information on testing criteria and community screening sites, visit www.gov.mb.ca/covid19/locations.html. For more information and to access the online screening tool for COVID-19, visit www.manitoba.ca/covid19.
A comprehensive list of Manitoba government COVID-19 measures can be found at:
https://manitoba.ca/bg/2020/04/covid19.html.
