Manitoba has eliminated most COVID-19-related restrictions and health orders, however, the University of Manitoba is continuing its mask and vaccine mandate until at least the end of the 2022 winter term.
Two years after a state of emergency was declared for the COVID-19 pandemic, the government of Manitoba is ushering in a return to normalcy.
During last year’s third wave of COVID-19, Heather Stefanson claimed Manitoba’s health-care system could handle dozens more critically ill cases five days after a top health official discussed the possibility of out-of-province ICU patient transfers.
My first impression of the VR universe was that it was wholesome and inviting. While still isolated in the real world, I was happy to find a community of people that I could gather with.
Manitoba will drop self-isolation requirements for people who test positive for COVID-19, the province announced last week.
Just over 2,200 course sections have returned to in-person learning, a major increase from the 450 course sections on campus
prior to reading week.
After the federal government legislated the use of the Emergencies Act — legislation that allows the government to have significant temporary powers to freeze the bank accounts and credit cards of protesters or arrest them — on Feb. 14, the protests were on track to end. Despite Conservative pushback on Parliament Hill, “freedom” protests in Ottawa were rapidly cleared and the use of such temporary powers came to an end on Feb. 23. But Winnipeg protesters were one of the exceptions. After receiving a lenient police deadline to end their occupation across the street of the Manitoba Legislative Building, protesters moved to a nearby location in Memorial Park. This lack of dedicated action from the police department suggests the “freedom convoy” extends beyond unvaccinated individuals and appeals to public servants like Winnipeg’s police force.
Comparing the past year or two to the end of a world war is distasteful. The conclusion, however, of the 1919 editorial excerpted below may fall on ears in which it rings true. Given the opportunities for the eventual return to classrooms, lecture theatres, buildings and spaces, it remains a timely call for the administration and the government to take responsibility and accountability “in developing a greater and finer University of Manitoba — Floreat.” The alternative: commarceat. The U of M must choose to bloom or wither.
The unfortunate truth is that the most equitable way to deliver education is by universally delivering it online for the remainder of the semester while details are hashed out during the summer for a return in the fall of 2022. By abruptly dropping news on students that they will be forced to return in-person or drop their classes, the U of M is suggesting education will no longer be accessible for people who are immunocompromised.
In a Feb. 2 email to students and employees at the U of M, University president and vice-chancellor Michael Benarroch and provost and vice-president (academic) Diane Hiebert-Murphy announced that partial in-person teaching and learning will resume for some courses.