Two of those deaths men in their 70s and 80s are linked to the more contagious B117 coronavirus variant first detected in the U.K., the province said in a news release.
Those staff will first need to undergo an orientation and on-the-job training. In the meantime, Siragusa said nurses from other fields who helped out in ICUs during the second wave have already volunteered to pitch in.
Lanette Siragusa, chief nursing officer for Shared Health, says Manitoba is adding 19 ICU beds across four hospitals in the coming days to accommodate the recent surge.(John Woods/The Canadian Press)
Not all of the nurses being shuffled into ICUs have agreed to the move. Manitoba Shared Health said in a statement that though many have volunteered to do so, an agreement struck with the Manitoba Nurses Union amid the second wave still allows health authorities to reassign nurses to priority areas outside of their home base.
WINNIPEG Four cases of the COVID-19 variant first detected in India have been reported in Manitoba. Deputy Chief Provincial Public Health Officer Dr. Jazz Atwal made the announcement Friday. The B.1.617 strain is considered a ‘variant of interest’ in Manitoba, not a ‘variant of concern.’ “At this time, Manitoba is not undertaking specific screening for this VOI, or any other VOI,” said Atwal. Atwal said the four B.1.617 cases were confirmed through sequencing. “Based on current sequence surveillance on further sequencing of unspecified variants of concern, Manitoba is not seeing widespread transmission of this variant in the province at this time.”
The medical professional preparing Manitoba's health-care system for the impact of COVID-19 acknowledged in court Wednesday that hospitals adapted to the increased demand, but the consequences of postponing some medical procedures are unknown.
Posted: May 05, 2021 5:00 AM CT | Last Updated: May 5
The number of COVID-19 patients in Manitoba intensive care wards has risen from 21 on March 10 to 47 as of Tuesday. Doctors predict numbers will continue to climb in coming weeks and are calling for another lockdown.(Mikaela MacKenzie/Canadian Press)