Manitoba and Sask. numbers are different than just about anywhere else - thanks to you!

April 21, 2020, 8:39 am

Saskatchewan and Manitoba figures for Covid-19 cases, and deaths as a result are lower than anywhere else.

The number of deaths per million population in the two Prairie provinces from Covid-19 is lower than Alberta, lower than B.C., lower than North Dakota, lower than South Dakota, lower than just about any state except Wyoming which is about the same.

The number of deaths per million people is several times higher in North Dakota than in Manitoba and Saskatchewan, it’s 70 times higher in Louisiana than in our Prairie provinces, it’s 117 times higher in New Jersey and it’s 236 times higher in New York.

And of course many, many countries have a much higher fatality rate from Covid-19 and a much higher infection rate.

So what makes the difference? You do.

While ensuring compliance with self-quarantine and social distancing orders has been a challenge is some jurisdictions (often the same jurisdictions with the highest death rates and the highest infection rates), local boards, municipalities, businesses, and our provincial governments have been ahead of the curve with social distancing in Manitoba and Saskatchewan.

The town of Moosomin shut its recreation facilities before anyone told them they had to.

Many, many local businesses closed their doors to the public to protect both the public and their staff long before there was a public health order to do so—and many have found ways to keep their businesses operating without having the public interacting directly with staff.

The vast majority of churches and organizations in our local area stopped all meetings and social gatherings long before there were legal requirements to do so, showing their concern for their members.

We have low infection rates and extremely low death rates from Covid-19 on the Prairies for one reason, and one reason only—because of you and people like you who have taken this seriously and done everything possible to slow the spread of the virus.

If we see the first tentative plans from governments for easing restrictions, it will be thanks to the great job everyone has done with social distancing.

Zoom, zoom

When this is all over, expect the economy to take off quickly as businesses get back in gear and projects get under way again.

Elsewhere in the paper you will read about Enbridge hoping to move forward with its line 3 replacement surface reclamation which will bring 250 workers to the area in mid-June. You will also read about projects at Nutrien Rocanville that will bring a lot of workers to the area that are being delayed slightly but will move forward. With those projects on the horizon, businesses eager to make up for lost time, and the government looking for shovel-ready projects to pour money into, the economy in this area should be doing zero to 60 in 4.5 seconds once this is over.