Manitoba pushes for economic rebound

BRANDON, Man. — The Manitoba government has launched a campaign promoting a restart to the economy in a city that has seen a large increase in COVID-19 cases connected to a cluster in a meat-processing plant.

Premier Brian Pallister said holding the Progressive Conservative caucus meeting in Brandon shows the province’s support for the city’s future.

“We recognize that here in this part of the province there have been more cases lately, and we also understand why,” Pallister said at a Brandon hotel Wednesday. “And we understand this should serve as motivation for all of us to do the right thing.”

There were 16 new cases reported in the province Wednesday, for a total of 587 infections. A provincewide state of emergency was also extended, for the fifth time, for another 30 days.

Manitoba spent months with low numbers of new infections and many days without any new cases at all before the recent increase.

The majority of current active cases — 86 — are in the Prairie Mountain Health region, which includes Brandon. Several employees at a Maple Leaf Foods plant in the city have tested positive for COVID-19 in the past two weeks, prompting their union to call for a temporary closure of the plant.

Health officials have said the cases are linked to gatherings outside the plant and there is no sign of spread in the workplace. Maple Leaf’s CEO has said he has confidence in the safety precautions in place and the plant will remain operational.

Opposition NDP Leader Wab Kinew called Wednesday for all employees at the plant to be tested in order to slow the spread of the virus.