As the number of potential exposures in restaurants and bars goes up, the chief provincial health officer says the attitudes of young people needs to change.
Winnipeg is leading the pack in cases of the virus in Manitoba. Experts say that many of Winnipeg's new cases are young people who have been visiting bars and restaurants, with a number of those cases visiting multiple locations in one night.
"Many cases are young adults in their 20s and have had many, various exposures at restaurants and bars throughout the city," Dr. Brent Roussin says.
Public health says they are seeing instances where people are ill and symptomatic but are not staying home.
"No one can decide their own risk because their risk belongs to others as well."
Roussin says at many of these locations there were large amounts of people in attendance, creating crowding.
"We have had cases that have attended more than one bar in an evening while symptomatic, one of which had 36 contacts."
Roussin says that they have seen a case where there were as many as 50 close contacts for one person. A close contact is someone who has been within two meters of a person with the virus for more than 15 minutes.
"We need to reduce the number of close contacts we have outside our home. That includes strangers and well as friends that we know," Roussin says. "We certainly should not be out and about while symptomatic."
The health expert says that this type of activity is not recommended and defeats the purpose of distancing at earlier events with the same people.
Contact tracers are been met with hostility when informing close contacts they need to stay home.
"They are getting many instances of contacts being very angry, rude, and abusive when they are advised that they are contacts and advised to self-isolate."
Roussin says Manitobans need to reduce time spent in enclosed and crowded spaces.
He says that "we are all in this together" and that the actions of one can affect many others.
"No one's risk is truly their own."
Roussin says that while a young person may fair better with the virus, they can spread it to others who are more vulnerable.
"These individuals will bring it home, perhaps to younger siblings, to older grandparents, or older contacts, or people who are more high risk," Roussin says. "No one can decide their own risk because their risk belongs to others as well."
Roussin says Winnipeggers need to refrain from large, enclosed gatherings and should leave it an event becomes too crowded.
Thu, Apr 25, 6:30 PM
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