Wednesday, March 25, 2020
Serving the Hub of the North since 1960
Volume 60 • Issue 13
Thompson clinic screens 153 people for the novel coronavirus over first five days of operation BY IAN GRAHAM
EDITOR@THOMPSONCITIZEN.NET
PREMIER DECLARES STATE OF EMERGENCY NEWS PAGE 2
SOME STORES HAVE REDUCED HOURS NEWS PAGE 3
Thompson’s COVID-19 testing site, one of 11 throughout Manitoba set up since the first case of the novel coronavirus emerged in the province earlier in March, screened 153 people during its first full week of operations March 16-20, the Northern Regional Health Authority says. The clinic is not a walkin operation but only for people referred there by a physician or after calling Health Links. Not everyone who is referred there receives a test. On the first day of operations March 16, 13 of the 100 people screened there were tested for COVID-19. Daily numbers for March 17-20 are not available. No one in Northern Manitoba has tested positive for COVID-19 as of March 23. By Monday, there were 11 confirmed and nine probable cases of the coronavirus in Manitoba, mostly in Winnipeg, with other cases in the Interlake-Eastman
Health Region and Southern Health–Santé Sud region. Across Canada, as of 11 a.m. Eastern time March 23, there were 1,432 confirmed cases of COVID-19 and 42 probable cases. Twenty people in Canada had died as the result of their infections. Nearly 103,000 people across Canada have been tested for COVID-19 since the first positive test, and there are more than 400 confirmed cases in both Ontario and British Columbia, while Alberta and Quebec have each identified more than 200 cases. Most of the confirmed COVID-19 cases in Canada have been identified since the beginning of March and people aged 50 to 59 represent 19 per cent of the cases. Forty-seven per cent of cases so far are among people younger than 50 and the Public Health Agency of Canada estimates that 44 per cent have occurred among people who recently travelled outside of Canada, with another seven per cent caused by close contact with
Thompson Citizen image courtesy of Public Health Agency of Canada A Public Health Agency of Canada chart shows the dramatic rise of COVID-19 cases in Canada since the beginning of March. someone who had recently travelled internationally. Forty-four per cent were likely exposed to the virus within Canada. Manitoba declared a state of emergency as a result of the pandemic March 20, which prohibits public gatherings of more than 50 people. Anyone who has travelled outside of the
province should self-isolate for 14 days following their trip, says Manitoba’s public health department. Anyone concerned that they may have or have been exposed to the coronavirus should call Health Links at 204-788-8200 or 1-888315-9257 to be screened to see if a test is required. An online screening tool is
available at www.manitoba. ca/covid19. People have been asked to stay home as much as possible to reduce their risk of exposure to the coronavirus and to wash their hands often and clean frequently touched surfaces. The main symptoms of COVID-19 infection are a fever, a cough and shortness of breath.
Family marks one-year anniversary of Solomon McDonald’s death in an unsolved hit-and-run collision north of Thompson The family of a Nelson House man who was killed in an unsolved hit-and-run just north of Thompson in 2019 held a memorial feast March 22 to mark one year since his death. Solomon McDonald, 42, died after being hit by a vehicle on Highway 391 just north of the Miles Hart Bridge over the Burntwood River March 22, 2019. A vehicle-pedestrian collision was reported to
Thompson RCMP around 1 a.m. that day. Solomon’s mother Delsey McDonald organized the feast with his siblings Gail McDonald, Rogina Linklater, Trapper Linklater and David McDonald as well as his aunts Lori Anne Hartie, Alma McDonald and Nora Linklater and his uncle Alex McDonald. The family complied with state of emergency regulations prohibiting gatherings
Man stabbed multiple times March 20, 19-year-old arrested and charged A man is in stable condition in a Winnipeg hospital after being stabbed multiple times in Thompson March 20. Thompson RCMP were called to a stabbing on Station Road around 11 p.m. Friday and located the 31-year-old victim, who was transported to Thompson General Hospital and later to Health Sciences Centre in Winnipeg in critical condition. Sunil Tiger Oman, 19, from Thompson was arrested and faces multiple charges, including aggravated assault, resisting arrest and possession of a controlled substance. He was remanded into custody and scheduled to appear in Thompson court March 23.
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of 50 people or more during the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. Solomon McDonald had 10 children, the youngest of them four-year-old twin girls and two grandchildren. Nisichawayasihk Cree Nation vice-chief and councillor Cheryl Moore told the Thompson Citizen that Solomon’s family has not heard anything from the RCMP about the investigation and that his mother Delsey McDonald believes someone from Thompson or one of the surrounding communities knows something and she and his common-law partner Nellie Wood hope that someone with information about the collision will come forward. Anyone who witnessed or has information about the collision can call the Thompson RCMP detachment at 204-677-6909 or Crime Stoppers anonymously at 1-800-222-8477. Tips can also be submitted online at www.manitobacrimestoppers.com.
LIMA Janitorial s e r v i c e
l i m i t e d
204-677-4327
Thompson Citizen photo courtesy of Cheryl Moore Family members of Solomon McDonald, including his common-law partner Nellie Wood and their four-year-old twin girls, held a memorial feast March 22 to mark one year since the 42-year-old Nelson House man was killed in an unsolved hit-and-run collision on the highway north of Thompson in 2019.
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