Doctors Manitoba Launches Public Awareness Campaign to Help Protect Hospitals
Stop the Spread. Stay Home. Save Lives
Doctors Manitoba has launched a digital advertising campaign to ask all Manitobans for their help in protecting hospital resources, which are being pushed to their limits by a surge in COVID-19 cases. The ads follow an unprecedented “Red Alert” issued last week by physicians urging Manitobans to stay home to stop the spread of the virus.
“Physicians are more worried than ever about our hospitals and ICUs being overwhelmed by COVID-19 admissions, so we are continuing to urge Manitobans to stay home and limit your contacts to help stop the spread,” said Dr. Cory Baillie, President of Doctors Manitoba. “With hundreds of new cases still being identified every day, it’s vital that Manitobans act now.”
Manitoba reached a record 173 individuals in hospital with COVID-19 yesterday, with 25 in ICU. There were 441 new cases identified on Sunday.
The digital ads portray a number of common and familiar social, family and work settings that Manitobans should avoid right now. Direct, attention-grabbing images and text ask Manitobans to help by staying home to stop the spread and save lives. The ads will appear on social media, online search results and on prominent websites for the next two weeks.
“It’s easy to spread the virus without knowing it, but you can avoid this by limiting your contacts outside of your household,” explained Dr. Baillie. “We know this isn’t easy. We know you want to be there to support your family and loved ones through this, but the best way to support each other right now is be there from a distance.”
Physicians are urging Manitobans to follow the advice of Dr. Brent Roussin, Manitoba’s Chief Provincial Public Health Officer. His advice includes going further than the code red restrictions that start today in Winnipeg. These steps include:
- Staying home whenever possible to limit contact with those outside of your household. If you can work from home, please do.
- Designate one individual in your household to run only essential errands, such as grocery shopping.
- Wear a mask at all times when outside of your home.
- Wash your hands frequently and stay six feet away from people outside of your household.
- Stay home if you are sick, even with mild symptoms, and get tested.
A full suite of campaign images and background is available at https://doctorsmanitoba.ca/stop/help/