City of Winnipeg faces staffing challenges with 351 active COVID-19 cases

COVID-19 cases are running through the City of Winnipeg, which is struggling with staffing issues, say the mayor and emergency operations manager.

Mayor Brian Bowman and Jason Shaw are imploring people to heed public health mandates in order to protect the city's services, including emergency responses.

"As of today, there are 351 active cases of COVID-19 in our workforce, including 76 in Winnipeg Transit and 85 in the Winnipeg Fire Paramedic Service," Shaw, manager of the city's emergency operations centre, said at a Thursday morning news conference on how the city is handling the rise in cases.

"Right now, we have no critical service failures in any of our departments but it's strained. I'm not going to lie, it's strained. We have a high level of absenteeism, but our leaders are leading and are continuity plans are working."

As of the Thursday's update, the Winnipeg health region was reporting 14,340 active cases of COVID-19. However, health officials have said the current number of reported cases is likely a drastic undercount.

The Winnipeg region had 149 people in hospital with the illness as of Thursday afternoon, according to the province's online dashboard.

"Sadly, we have lost 868 of our residents to this virus," Bowman said, noting the city's five-day test positivity rate has moved from 26.2 per cent one week ago to 48 per cent.

Transit is relying on spare operators and overtime to cover the shift gaps, but it hasn't been enough to cover all shifts. That's resulted in some runs being cancelled, Shaw said, adding about 94 per cent of regular buses remain on the road.

The fire-paramedic service has been able to backfill most shifts with overtime, while staff in less-busy units are being redeployed "to ensure the most minimal impacts possible on our emergency response times," he said.

More operational decisions will be made as required, said Shaw, but "we will continue to be there for any resident in distress."

Asked if he is concerned that fewer buses on the road will mean crowding on those still operating, Shaw said ridership is still quite low — around 50 to 60 per cent of pre-COVID normals.

"So there's still ample space on buses," Shaw said, but acknowledged there are times, such as during rush hour, when ridership briefly spikes.

The simple answer is, "if you are sick, do not visit our facilities or ride on the bus. Stay at home," Shaw said.

Added Bowman: "Right now the issue isn't more buses.… Buses don't get COVID — people do."

On Wednesday, the Winnipeg Police Service declared a state of emergency due to staff shortages, allowing the service to redeploy officers to shore up its general patrol ranks.

There are currently 90 active cases within the police service and 170 personnel are on COVID-19-related leave, Chief Danny Smyth said. The police service has roughly 1,900 employees, according to its latest annual report.

No state of emergency for city: mayor

Bowman said he fully supports Smyth's decision as a way to manage the police service's operations under the collective agreement, but the city isn't yet at the point where it needs to declare its own state of emergency.

"We're currently not seeing the need for that lever to be pulled in a similar way. But we'll continue to watch and make decisions going forward as needed," he said.

"If and when that's necessary, I have no problem declaring a state of emergency if there are additional measures that can be gained."

Shaw also noted the city is currently working with the province to secure rapid COVID-19 test kits for critical staff.

Despite the strain on the city, there are no changes or cancellations happening with leisure guide programs at this point.

"But if we were to continue to see increased staff absences, you could potentially see some some reduction of services," Shaw said.

"You could see a pool closed or you could see a recreation facility closed, depending on staff levels."

He said the city is also looking at reducing the current isolation period of 10 days down to five, as announced by the province on New Year's Eve.

Bowman urged people to stay home as much as possible and to get fully vaccinated, adding when he hears of people holding parties in their homes, "it angers me to no end."

"We have to think about those in our community that are being impacted as a result of what can only be described as, in some cases … very selfish behaviour," he said.

"I've heard a lot online with some of the trolling from anti-vaxxers and others about rights. We do have rights in Canada, but there's also responsibilities in a civil society. Do your part."

While provincial health orders allow people to have up to 10 fully vaccinated visitors in a home, that doesn't mean you should, he added.

"This is a way that Winnipeggers can ensure that they're helping mitigate impacts on critical services. You may not need those services directly yourself, but others in our community will," Bowman said.