Coalition launches #WearAMaskMB campaign

(WINNIPEG, TREATY 1)

Manitoba Health Coalition Provincial Director Thomas Linner said the following:

“For two years, the COVID-19 pandemic has shown us all how important public, universal health care is for families in Manitoba and across Canada.

The government may be done with helping to contain, track and prevent the spread of COVID-19. But the sad reality is that Manitobans are and will continue to be vulnerable to infection, sickness and even death. Manitoba has the second-highest death rate in the country. over 1,700 of our friends and family members have lost their lives since the start of the pandemic - over 300 of those in the past two-and-a-half months alone.

Our front-line health care workers in our hospitals, care homes and clinics are still stretched to the breaking point. In Manitoba - today - critically ill and elderly patients are still being transferred between regions, sometimes hours away from their loved ones.

The removal of the mask mandate, in conjunction with the removal of the vaccine mandate and the requirement for self-isolation for those sick with the virus, is a political decision that will make life harder for those attempting to act responsibly in their homes, schools, workplaces and communities. It will embolden the extremist, anti-vaccine and anti-mask convoy movement that has occupied cities across Canada, blocked borders and protested outside schools and hospitals.

Manitobans, after all we’ve been through, deserve better.

The Manitoba Health Coalition urges Manitobans to stand up and show solidarity where our government will not. We have launched a social media campaign with the hashtag #WearAMaskMB to encourage mask use and support those who want to do the right thing. It’s okay to be cautious. To protect each other.

I will do my part. I’ll wear a mask.”

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Shareable graphics for the #WearAMaskMB campaign can be found here.