By Anne Davison
Tuesday, April 21 update
With the help of experts on infectious disease management Manitoba now has a colour-coded system to prioritize who uses personal protective equipment (PPE).
The April 21 COVID-19 update from the province explains the situations as they have been categorized according to the level of risk to workers and to the population they are caring for. The required PPE has been set out accordingly. These include:
• green zones, which are settings and situations involving care or service for individuals who are not considered COVID-19 suspects;
• orange zones, which are settings and situations involving care or service for individuals who meet the criteria for COVID-19 testing, AND who have been tested AND whose results are pending; and
• red zones, which are settings and situations involving care or service for individuals who have been tested and confirmed to have COVID-19.
Meanwhile, Manitoba’s infection rate continues to be low.
Public health officials advise one new case of COVID-19 was identified as of 9:30 a.m. today, bringing the total number of lab-confirmed positive and probable positive cases in Manitoba to 255.
The data shows:
- 7 people are currently hospitalized, 4 in ICU;
- 99 active cases
- 150 people have recovered from COVID-19; and
- COVID-19 related deaths remain at 6
- Cadham Provincial Laboratory performed 314 tests, Monday.
Personal protective equipment (PPE) is a supplement to health measures including strict hand hygiene and both social/physical distancing.
Similar to other jurisdictions, Manitoba has engaged experts in infection prevention and control, and occupational and environmental health and safety to identify the supplies required to protect workers in critical and priority services.
To conserve PPE for health-care workers, public health officials are recommending all people who enter a health-care facility wear a cloth mask to protect others. In addition, patients and clients are encouraged to wear non-medical face masks during any health-care interaction, as well as when using public transit, handi-transit or a taxi.
A comprehensive list of Manitoba government COVID-19 measures can be found at https://manitoba.ca/bg/2020/04/covid19.html.
