Five new cases of COVID-19 in Manitoba, all related to footerlite colonies

COVID-19 has spread to all three footerlite colonies in Prairie, and five new virus cases were reported in one Manitoba community on Friday.

The state government said the new infection was due to men and women in their 60s, men and women in their 30s, and women in their 20s.

It did not name the colony, but said it is in the Interlake-eastern health region, which covers a large area north and east of Winnipeg.

None of the five are hospitalized.

The Hutterian Safety Council-a spiritual leader, first responder, and educator volunteer group-works with public health officials to ensure that their response is culturally sensitive.

The council said in a news release that positive cases were confirmed in Manitoba colonies as of Sunday.

The group said neither that nor the government publicly identified the affected colonies, “because this would easily lead to unnecessary criticism.”

The Footer is an Anabaptist religious group living together in rural colonies of the Great Plains of Canada and the United States.

In a news release, the Safety Commission acknowledged that a footer co-lifestyle “has certain vulnerabilities with regard to virus spread.”

“When Manitoba began to reopen, it was always expected that COVID-19 cases would emerge in footer communities. Many communities are eager to protect the most vulnerable citizens, and this continues. I am doing this,” said the release.

“Footerlite’s way of life may be vulnerable to viruses, but it is also highly adaptable, and our members want to take care of the sick and prevent the spread of heat.”

This week, in a message to community members in Manitoba, the council urged them to work with health officials to “resist incidents and the temptation to hide potential contacts.”

Colonies with confirmed cases should only be allowed essential travel, he said.

“There is no benefit in blaming or embarrassing those who test positive. We are asked to care and support each other.”

Parliament said there were no signs that the Manitoba incident was linked to a recent funeral held for teens from the Spring Valley Hatterite colony in southern Alberta who drowned last month.

Parliament said in a preliminary report on July 8 that “several communities” in Saskatchewan and Alberta were “seriously hit” by COVID-19, and many were “related to a large funeral a few weeks ago.” Stated.

It said there was initial resistance to state authorities, but cooperation was improving.

Saskatchewan reported 42 new cases throughout the state on Thursday.

Saskatchewan has reported about 60 new COVID-19 cases in the last three days. Authorities say community life is partly responsible

Scott Livingston, CEO of the Saskatchewan Department of Health, said there were mostly footer colonies in the southwest and central west of the state, although unrelated cases were also reported in those areas. There is.

He said he would visit colonies only when health authorities were invited, and door-to-door to spread public health messages.

The colony has worked hard throughout the pandemic to stop the spread of the virus, Livingston added.

“Like any other place, there was a small breakdown.”

Tom McMillan, a spokesman for the Alberta Department of Health, said the affected colonies in the state were not identified to protect confidentiality. State health officials also did not say how many of the local people had a positive test.

“Like other communities, Alberta’s health services work closely with both cases and contacts, and community leaders to implement public health measures and prevent further expansion.”

Mr McMillan said a member of one colony was also placed in 14-day isolation requirements to maintain confidentiality and ensure that no one outside the community was at risk.

“It’s important that we avoid being criticized by certain groups or parts of our society,” he said. “Cases continue to be identified in all regions of the state and we are all together.”