In partnership with the Chief and Council from Little Grand Rapids First Nation, provincial public health officials are advising that multiple individuals in the community have tested positive for COVID-19 after attending events at the recreation centre in Little Grand Rapids First Nation from September 24 to 27. People from other First Nations communities were also present. If you attended events at the recreation centre in Little Grand Rapids on those dates, please contact the nursing station or health centre in your community.

Provincial public health officials are working with the community and other partners to address the situation. The community has been moved to Critical (red) on the #RestartMB Pandemic Response System. The Chief and Council have directed that public gatherings are not permitted, and community residents are required to stay at home. People should only leave their residence to seek testing or medical care, or to send one person from a household for essential supplies. People who work in essential services are able to leave their residence for work. Non-medical masks must be worn outside the home.

The public is being advised of possible exposures at these sites:

• Hooters Restaurant. 1501 St Matthews Ave on Sept. 24 from 4 p.m. to 11 p.m.;
• 1600-2300 Bourbon Billiards, 241 Vaughan St. in Winnipeg on Sept. 25 from 6:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m.;
• Earls Polo Park, 1455 Portage Ave. in Winnipeg on Sept. 25 from 10 p.m. to 12:30 a.m.;
• Montana's Polo Park, 665 Empress St. in Winnipeg on Sept. 25 from 9 p.m. to 10 p.m.; and
• Crspy Bnch, 806 Sargent Ave. in Winnipeg on Sept. 26 from 11 a.m. until noon.

People who attended any of the above locations on the dates/times listed should self-monitor for symptoms and immediately isolate if they develop and seek testing.

Public health officials also advised of a possible airline exposure on Air Canada flight 296 (affected rows 27 to 31) from Vancouver to Winnipeg on Sept. 27. Individuals in the affected rows on this flight are advised to self-isolate for 14 days following the flight and monitor for symptoms. Passengers on this flight, but not in the affected rows, should self-monitor for symptoms and self-isolate if they develop.

The Health Canada COVID Alert app is now available to Manitoba residents and provides digital COVID-19 exposure alerts once the app is downloaded to a smart phone. It is available at no cost in the Apple and Google Play app stores. For more information, visit manitoba.ca/covid19/updates/covidalert.html. 

The chief provincial public health officer strongly encourages Manitobans to reduce the number of close contacts outside their household, and avoid closed-in or crowded spaces. In addition, they should focus on these fundamentals to help stop the spread of COVID-19:

• Stay home if you are sick. 
• Wash/sanitize your hands and cover your cough. 
• Physically distance when you are with people outside your household.
• If you cannot physically distance, wear a mask to help reduce the risk to others or as required by public health orders.