COVID-19 in Manitoba

• Download the E-Book

On 12 March 2020 Manitoba confirmed its first case of COVID-19. One week later, it declared a province-wide state of emergency, ushering in a new sense of urgency and rarely used government powers to protect Manitobans from the devastating global reach of the novel coronavirus. More than six months later, after lifting restrictions over a summer with relatively few cases, Manitoba shattered daily case records.

The wide-ranging impacts of the pandemic have touched every facet of Manitoba society and provincial responsibility, including health, economic development, social services, and government operations. COVID-19 has challenged the conventional policy-making process––complicating agenda setting and policy formulation, adoption, implementation, and evaluation. At the same time, governments have been under pressure to make swift decisions in life-and-death matters. New programs must address urgent and shifting health and economic realities, but also anticipate future waves of COVID-19 and potentially significant repercussions for future governments.

COVID-19 in Manitoba: Public Policy Responses to the First Wave seeks to understand how Manitoba fared during the first months of the pandemic, with twenty-seven chapters that address key aspects of the pandemic and discuss how government policy can help lay the foundation for resiliency in the midst a continuing public-health crisis. This open-access volume identifies policy gaps and successes of Manitoba’s early COVID-19 response to inform efforts to prepare for and curb oncoming waves of infection. As the province contends with hundreds of new cases daily, hospitals near capacity, and our communities enter “code red” status, this book is a timely and essential resource for citizens and policy-makers alike.