First off, thank you to everyone who has signed on and supported the Suppress the Virus campaign! Together, we have shown Manitobans there is another way, one that does not treat people as expendable.


Suppress the Virus campaign signs are here and are in the process of being distributed. You can sign up for them HERE.

The good news is that test positivity has fallen in southern Manitoba, however the unfortunate news is that northern communities are currently dealing with explosive outbreaks and due to systemic underfunding they lack the same health infrastructure as southern Manitoba. Any outbreaks in our province threaten our collective safety, and now that more easily transmitted variants have reached Canada we are not yet out of the woods yet. Per the COVID Strategic Choices Group, Building the Canadian Shield “Canada will likely experience a third wave this spring.”

The Manitoba government's pandemic response strategy has been a failure. We are currently under public health orders that are barely keeping our healthcare system from being completely overwhelmed, but under these orders Manitobans are still getting sick and Manitobans are still dying. What's even more troubling, is that we are inviting what could be a catastrophic 3rd wave, which would mean even more people becoming critically ill and dying. 

This current plan is like trying to keep the heat under a pot of water as hot as possible, without it boiling over. Instead, we need to turn off the heat!

We know there is a better way!

Vaccination is necessary. Unfortunately, it can’t happen fast enough to prevent a third wave.  We can still control the virus and start living with fewer restrictions, as in Australia, New Zealand and other countries. 

A growing number of scientists and doctors in Canada are advocating a different strategy, some using #COVIDzero 

The Suppress the Virus campaign continues to call for a strategy that really works for all Manitobans, for our frontline workers and especially for those who are suffering most under the current failed approach. 

We have received numerous comments on the campaign and are sure others have seen some of these concerns raised by friends, family or co-workers who are skeptical about lockdowns, are suffering pandemic fatigue or who have fallen victim to various conspiracy theories which have been circulated online. If you are struggling to correct misinformation, please feel free to use some of our responses here.

“We can’t stay in a lockdown forever!”
You are completely right, and nor should we. If we implement a lockdown that supports ALL Manitobans and ensures we have a mass public buy in, we won’t have to do another lockdown as long as we introduce measures to test, quarantine and isolate people coming into Manitoba from outside the province. The reason we keep repeating these half hearted lockdowns is the province isn’t listening to public health experts.
Source article HERE

“The economy can’t take any more lockdowns!”
It’s true, COVID-19 has wreaked havoc on the global economy. However lockdowns aren’t the only thing causing problems for the economy. The virus itself causes enormous harm. It is impossible to have an economic recovery with a highly contagious and deadly virus running rampant, even more so now with more easily transmissible strains present in Canada. Even without an official lockdown studies show that people will “self-lockdown” if they feel conditions aren’t safe. Which means economic recovery will be delayed even further. The short term pain of a real lockdown means a long term gain, like in Australia & New Zealand.
Source article HERE

“The virus is only dangerous for really old or really sick people.”
This is simply not true. While the elderly are at greater risk; young, otherwise healthy individuals have become critically ill and even died from contracting the virus. People can unknowingly transmit it asymptomatically to loved ones and make them critically ill or worse. The long term effects of COVID-19 aren’t clear either, some of the known lasting health consequences include scarred lung tissue, acute chronic fatigue and increased risk of strokes and seizures.
Source articles HERE & HERE

“The vaccine is here now anyway, things will be back to normal soon.”
While everyone should be relieved vaccines now exist, it could be many, many months before enough people are vaccinated to effectively control the spread of the virus and we have already seen the province mishandle the vaccine rollout. On top of that, it is still unclear if the vaccine will be effective against some of the newly identified COVID-19 strains, and vaccine supply is subject to change as well. We need to remain vigilant and introduce comprehensive measures to support Manitobans and ensure numbers stay low so we don’t have a 3rd, 4th or 5th wave before vaccinations can be completed.
Source article HERE

 
We want to once again express our profound thanks to all organizations and individuals for your continued support!