COVID 19
Community Update
Screening/testing sites now open
Please self – screen before you come 
Use the online tool or call 1-877-308-9038.

Interlake – Eastern Regional Health Authority now has three screening and testing sites operating for people who have symptoms of COVID-19 and meet the criteria for testing. Sites are located in the following communities:

ERIKSDALE
35 Railway Avenue – Wellness Centre
10 am to 3 pm, Monday to Friday (Closed Friday, April 10) - Map here - call to confirm hours in advance - 1-855-347-8500 and press #1.
Please remain in your car until staff on-site direct otherwise.


PINE FALLS - CLOSED APRIL 2 DUE TO WEATHER
33 Vincent Street – Ecole Powerview School
9 am to 4 pm, Monday to Friday (Closed Friday, April 10) - Map here - call to confirm hours in advance - 1-855-347-8500 and press #1.
Please remain in your car until staff on-site direct otherwise.


SELKIRK - CLOSED APRIL 2 DUE TO WEATHER
9 am to 4 pm, every day - Map here - call to confirm hours in advance - 1-855-347-8500 and press #1.
Please remain in your car - this is a drive through testing site .
Not sure if you're a candidate for testing?
Use the online tool or call 1-877-308-9038 for over the phone screening.
Go through the questions to determine if you meet the criteria. You will NOT be tested if you do not meet the criteria. See sidebar for complete details.
Health care staff is now on duty at three community testing sites.
Screening & testing
You MUST meet the criteria before you can be tested.

1. You must be experiencing symptoms:
Symptoms range:
  • Mild – fever, cough, runny nose, sore throat.
  • Severe – shortness of breath and breathing difficulties.

2. You need to fall into one of these criteria for testing:
  • health-care workers;
  • individuals who live/work in a remote or isolated community or a group setting, such as a correctional facility, shelter, long- term care or residential facility, or a remote work camp;
  • people who have recently returned (in the last 14 days) from travel outside Manitoba;
  • people who have had direct contact with individuals who have a confirmed or probable case of COVID-19 within 14 days before the onset of illness.

Call before you go!  
Call 1-855-347-8500 and press #1 for hours of operation. Testing site hours are subject to change.

What a COVID-19 test involves
A health – care provider needs to swab the inside of your nose and will typically swab both nostrils.

You will be called with your test results - please do not visit a screening/testing centre for results.
You will receive a call with the results of your test. Staff at the community screening/testing site do not receive the results of your test and they won't be able to assist in securing that information for you. It will take three or more days to receive test results. Your patience is appreciated.
Why physical distancing now?

Physical distancing is deliberately increasing the physical space between people to avoid spreading illness. This includes school closures, changes at workplaces and the cancellation of public gatherings of more than 10 people.
In the case of COVID-19, social distancing measures are being used because:
  • COVID-19 can be spread by close contact (within two metres or six feet).
  • Unlike seasonal influenza, the time that a person can be infectious and transmit COVID-19 is much longer. Individuals infected with COVID-19 may be able to transmit the virus before they start to show symptoms and start to take precautions like self-isolating.
  • Using social distancing can delay and minimize the peak in COVID-19 cases to help manage the impact on the health care system.
Mapping the spread
Click on the interactive real time map (above) that tracks the virus.
For reliable information on COVID-19 click here
What you need to know
What happens if someone in your community tests positive

Interlake-Eastern RHA has had community members call wanting to know if anyone in their community has tested positive for COVID-19. The response is this: don't worry - we have you covered!
Public health nurses in our region are notified as soon as someone in the region tests positive for COVID-19.
A public health nurse will contact these people and begin the process of contact tracing. This means they identify when a person would have been contagious and start mapping all the places that person was, and all the people who had close contact with them (within two metres for more than 10 minutes), when they were capable of spreading disease. Staff then call the people identified and ask them to start self-isolating for 14 days from the time of their last contact with the person who tested positive. Public health nurses speak with people daily for temperature readings while they are self-isolating.
Donations welcome!

To ensure the province is prepared to meet the needs of patients and to ensure appropriate protection from COVID-19 is available to health–care workers, Shared Health is welcoming donations of the following supplies:
  • N95 respirators of various models and sizes, both hospital and industrial grade;
  • surgical/procedure masks;
  • gloves;
  • disposable gowns and
  • disinfectants and cleaners.
Supplies must be in original packaging, clean and in useable condition. Expired supplies are not able to be accepted.   Click here for more, or call 1-833-408-0101.
Self-isolation vs physical distancing
Isolate means remain alone or apart from others

Self-isolation means staying at home and not interacting with people at all. This means getting anything you need delivered to your home. You should not be in the community at all if you are self-isolating. You are self- isolating because you have been identified as a risk to spread disease.
Staying away from others during the time the virus could be active in your body is how you keep other people safe.
Physical distancing means leaving two metres or six feet between yourself and other people and not being in contact for more than 10 minutes. (See "Why Physical Distancing" above for additional details).
Public health is advising that people remain within or close to their home communities when social physical distancing. This includes limiting travel, even within Manitoba, to essential trips only. Services at smaller health centres could be strained if seasonal visitors become ill.
Expect changes in local service delivery
Our response to managing COVID-19 requires us to access resources when they need them. This means that you may find services in your community limited or suspended as we redeploy staff to areas where they are needed. Emergency departments, hospitals and clinics are still open and accepting patients at this time but you may notice changes in access and processes moving forward. You may also notice that diagnostic services may be reduced in your community. If you experience a service disruption, we will identify a close alternative for you. We appreciate your patience and support as we do what we need to do to place our staff where they can best assist in helping to prevent the spread of COVID-19. Please check our website for service disruptions and we will work with our partner communities to help spread the word.
Your Help is Needed
Former nurses, we need your help!
If you are a former registered nurse, please consider supporting backfill of nurses who are working to care for patients who have contracted COVID-19.
We will work with you to identify appropriate areas f or your help. Former RNs with experience in the past 5 years are asked to register with the College of Registered Nurses of Manitoba and self-identify to the central COVID-19 recruitment office with a request to support in IERHA. More information .
Any other former health care workers interested in helping out to replace staff dedicated to COVID-19?
Please contact us at hr@ierha.ca
Resources for you
AbilitiCBT digital therapy program
AbilitiCBT is a digital therapy program that will soon be available to help you with anxiety symptoms related to the COVID-19 pandemic. You will be able to connect to a professional therapist trained to help you deal with: pandemic challenges, the state of uncertainty, physical isolation, care for family and community members, information overload and stress management. Learn how it works and sign up to be alerted when this free service is available to Manitobans.
Want to help?
Help Next Door MB is a network of helpers coming together as a community.
If you are a volunteer ready to provide your support or someone who needs a helping hand through these difficult times, there is an online database that can connect you. Learn more.
Did you know?
There is a listing of flights online that have carried passengers who have tested positive for COVID-19. Click here to read more.
Care protocols
Your mental health & COVID-19

The Calm In the Storm app is a digital stress management tool that uses clinical research that has been proven to manage stress. The stress assessment app helps users better understand what stress is, what their current level of stress is, and how to properly manage stress - using visual, audio and video of meditative practices. Users can save their scores and track the development of their stress over time. This is an excellent way to monitor progress on a stress reduction initiative, or to simply achieve a baseline of stress over a period of time.
Help lines are also there when you need them:
ERHA 24 Hour Crisis Line:  1-866-427-8628 or (204)-482-5419 
Klinic Crisis Line (24/7): 1-888-322-3019 or (204) 786-8686
Kids Help Line: 1-800-668-6868 or https://kidshelpphone.ca.
Your ideas and feedback are welcome. Please email us a t info@ierha.ca.